McNeil Urges Fire Agencies to Plan for Battery Storage Hazards

SAN GABRIEL, Calif., Oct. 6, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Dozens of battery storage systems have failed in the United States, with most incidents occurring during construction, commissioning, and the first two years of operation, according to a May 2024 white paper from the Electric Power Research Institute. The research found that 72 percent of battery storage failures with a known system age occurred during these critical phases, with faults traced to the battery cells themselves accounting for only about 11 percent of the root causes. The rest of the issues stemmed from balance-of-system components and controls, as well as integration, assembly, and construction, which accounted for 46 percent of the root causes.

Michael Karl McNeil, a former Fire Battalion Chief and the principal of McNeil Safety Consulting, is urging California fire agencies to plan for battery energy storage systems as a construction and commissioning hazard, not only as a hazard of finished, operating facilities. He points to the failure data, which indicates that the highest-probability window for these sites is during the integration faults that surface during the first energization and commissioning tests, when contractor crews are on site. Fire agencies, however, tend to see the highest risk during this window least often.

California has already taken steps to address these issues. The 2025 California Fire Code, which went into effect on January 1, 2026, regulates energy storage systems in Section 1207 and requires commissioning before a system is placed in service. Senate Bill 283, also effective on January 1, 2026, mandates that battery storage developers meet with the local fire department before filing an application and requires a pre-operation inspection by the local fire department or the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The 2026 edition of NFPA 855 makes a hazard mitigation analysis the default and calls for the emergency response plan to be developed with the authority having jurisdiction.

McNeil recommends that fire agencies build on these requirements in three ways. First, they should place an inspector or company officer on-site at the first energization and during commissioning tests, when integration faults surface. Second, they should write exposure planning into the emergency response plan before the first battery arrives, including hydrogen fluoride, a level that integrated sampling methods built for full-shift averages are poorly suited to measure during a short, high-concentration release. Third, they should document every firefighter's exposure at a battery incident in the same record as the incident report, so the information exists if a health question arises years later.

The January 16, 2025 fire at the 300-megawatt Moss Landing facility showed how long a battery fire and its aftermath can occupy a fire agency. Data center construction, with its large uninterruptible power supply battery banks, adds to the number of sites passing through that commissioning window.

McNeil, who holds the Registered Environmental Professional, Registered Industrial Hygienist, Emergency Planning Professional, and Qualified SWPPP Developer designations, as well as being a Hazardous Materials Manager, HAZMAT Specialist, and Incident Commander, recommends that fire agencies build on these requirements in three ways. First, they should place an inspector or company officer on-site at the first energization and during commissioning tests, when integration faults surface. Second, they should write exposure planning into the emergency response plan before the first battery arrives, including hydrogen fluoride, a level that integrated sampling methods built for full-shift averages are poorly suited to measure during a short, high-concentration release. Third, they should document every firefighter's exposure at a battery incident in the same record as the incident report, so the information exists if a health question arises years later.

McNeil's recommendations are based on the failure data and the need to address the highest-risk period for battery storage systems. The Moss Landing facility fire highlighted the importance of these recommendations, as the incident showed how long a battery fire and its aftermath can occupy a fire agency. The construction of data centers with large uninterruptible power supply battery banks adds to the number of sites passing through the commissioning window, further emphasizing the need for these precautions.

McNeil Safety Consulting, based in San Gabriel, California, provides environmental health and safety, industrial hygiene, emergency planning, OSHA and Cal/OSHA citation defense, and forensic and expert consulting to employers in seventeen states. More information is available at mcneilsafetyconsulting.com.