"Responses to Energy Storage Systems" by Lieutenant Paul G. Rogers (Fire Engineering, June 2015) was very interesting. The two photos on page 79 show rooms full of electrical equipment/storage batteries protected by what appears to be a conventional wet-pipe fire sprinkler system (note the pendant head in photo 1). Shouldn't these rooms be protected by a clean-agent fire suppression system such as Inergen, FM-200, or any of the other Halon replacements?
Oscar Wiltse,Firefighter/EMT-P Flowery Branch, Georgia
Paul G. Rogers responds: Tests are being run on the correct suppression systems as I write this. The current International Fire Code does not cover what type of suppression system to use. Some of the energy storage systems (ESS) will not be in an enclosed room, however, and the magnitude of the systems will be very large. Suppression systems, therefore, are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, depending on the battery chemistry of the ESS. Some suppression systems do not have a cooling capability, and that is needed to dissipate the heat and stop thermal runaway in some battery chemistries. As more testing data are revealed, we will be able to answer the question about water in greater detail. In almost any case, the quickest and easiest suppression available to the firefighter is water. In this particular situation regarding ESS, firefighters should also be educated about and aware of the possibility of electrical leakage.
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