Multiple fire agencies will be spending the next three days at the new 100MW battery energy storage system (BESS) facility in Nipomo, training for potential emergencies.
"Speaking with the people on site and getting familiar with the systems and how they work and then coming up with a plan together to mitigate any emergencies here,” said Ryan Grebe, CAL FIRE SLO Public Information Officer.
Grebe says smoke plumes from a potential fire are their primary concern.
"If there were to be a fire here, there would be toxic gases in that smoke that could go in either direction depending on the wind,” Grebe said.
However, there is technology that fire crews can use to track that toxic smoke.
"The hazmat has certain air monitoring equipment that we can spread out in certain areas to track where the toxic gases are going and if we need to evacuate those locations or if it’s safe for people to be there,” said Capt. Eddie Stefani, CAL FIRE SLO.
Dennis Leatham lives on Joshua Street, the same street where the six-acre BESS facility is located.
"I’m glad the firemen are doing that for battery fires and knowing what to do about it. Training is everything,” Leatham said.
Grebe says most fires are suppression-based; however, with lithium-ion battery fires, they take a different approach.
"The strategy is not to suppress them. It's to let them burn out. Because they do not go out easily with water, it presents a lot of challenges for us, so typically, we let them burn,” Grebe explained.
He added, "We are working with County OES to determine evacuation plans. A lot of this work is still in progress.”
Firefighters will be in the area through Friday, as additional training exercises are scheduled.
