Battery fire in Alghero building basement forces evacuation of residents

What happened

An alarm was raised for a fire in a basement in Alghero, Italy, and a whole building was evacuated. Firefighters arrived and found that a battery pack of the building's solar photovoltaic system had burned, producing smoke and an acrid smell. The duty officer coordinated the recovery of the battery unit. The local fire station detachment attended on the evening of the incident, and a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (NBCR) unit from the Sassari central station carried out checks and analysis of the smoke.

The mayor of Alghero was contacted to provide assistance to the residents of the building until they could return to their homes. The article does not report any injuries.

Contributing factors

The source describes a fault in the photovoltaic battery pack but does not state the cause of the fault.

Lessons learned

1. Battery packs installed in shared basements or plant rooms should be located with fire separation, smoke detection and clear access for fire crews.
2. Building owners and installers should ensure storage batteries are installed, commissioned and inspected to the manufacturer's and applicable standards.
3. Emergency plans for multi-occupancy buildings should cover how residents will be housed if smoke or fire forces an evacuation.

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

Source

linkoristano.it