Home-built battery storage fire in a house basement in Poland

What happened

A fire broke out in the basement of a single-family house in Mchy, in the Książ Wielkopolski commune of Poland. The fire involved batteries of an energy storage system that the owner had built himself. Fire crews from the Śrem professional fire station and volunteer units from Książ, Mchy and Kołacin were called to the property in the early afternoon, shortly before 13:00 according to the report. The flames were quickly extinguished. However, for more than an hour firefighters monitored the state of the batteries because there was a risk of explosion. No one was injured. The local report did not give the cause of the fire.

Contributing factors

The source states that the energy storage unit was of the owner's own construction. The cause of the fire was not reported, so no contributing factor has been established.

Lessons learned

1. Battery storage systems should be built to a recognised standard and inspected by a qualified installer, whatever their origin.
2. Battery storage in basements and other enclosed spaces needs fire-rated separation, ventilation and smoke or heat detection.
3. Fire crews attending battery fires need clear guidance on monitoring, cooling and exclusion zones where there is a risk of explosion, and households should know how to act quickly on an alarm.

More lessons on maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, detection and monitoring, from every incident on the register.

Source

tvrelax.pl