Explosion and fire at battery building in Kagoshima solar plant

What happened

In late March 2024 a fire and explosion occurred in a single-storey steel-framed building housing lithium-ion battery storage equipment at a large-scale solar power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture. Nearby residents alerted the fire service. Firefighters could not use water on the battery equipment because of the risk of short circuit, electric shock and reaction with water, so the site power was cut and the fire was left to burn out naturally.

The fire service confirmed it was extinguished about 20 hours later, and the building was completely burned out. While the fire service opened the building door to operate a smoke extraction device, an explosion is thought to have occurred. Four firefighters were burned, one of them seriously.

Contributing factors

Lithium-ion battery equipment inside the building, with short circuit, electric shock and water reaction risks that prevented water use on the equipment. Power to the site had to be isolated, and the fire burned out over a long period. Police and fire service inquiries indicate the explosion may have followed the opening of the door to operate the smoke extraction device. The underlying cause of the fire has not been reported.

Lessons learned

1. Operators of battery storage buildings should agree with the local fire service a pre-incident plan that sets out how the stored energy will be isolated and what extinguishing method will be used, since water may not be usable on energised cells.
2. Responders opening doors or operating smoke extraction on a battery building should be aware of the risk of deflagration and should follow a controlled ventilation procedure.
3. Site owners should confirm that isolation points and emergency contacts are accessible to the fire service at all hours.

More lessons on fire suppression and firefighting, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.

Source

riss.aist.go.jp