Lithium Battery Fire Investigations
For many of us, it’s hard to imagine not being able to keep in touch or get work done from almost anywhere. And those are just a few of the things lithium batteries allow us to do – by powering our devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and tablets. Lithium batteries are also used in electric cars, medical devices, commercial devices, and utility infrastructure.
Lithium batteries have become indispensable. But, like any product that stores or generates electricity, they carry a risk of fire and/or explosion. Lithium battery fires can happen for several reasons: manufacturing defects, short circuits, overheating, mechanical damage, and internal damage to the battery are all fire hazards. That’s why proper storage and handling of lithium batteries is so important.
It’s rare for lithium batteries to fail and start a fire, but it does happen. And if it happens, you can turn to us at Bensen Fire & Safety Consulting along with our partners at Energy Storage Response Group (ESRG) to expertly investigate, just like we do all other types of fires and explosions.
As your single source for forensic fire investigations, we investigate fires related to consumer-scale lithium batteries, like those found in mobile phones and hoverboards, to determine the cause of the incident. Our affiliate company ESRG offers investigation of large-scale battery systems and other alternative energy sources such as wind turbines.
We can also evaluate whether a manufacturing defect contributed to the fire or explosion incident. If litigation support is needed, you can rely on us for that too. And as with all our forensic fire and explosion investigations, we are available anytime to respond to the scene promptly and provide reports that are well-documented.
We have a variety of tools available to help our investigations, such as Matterport 3D scanning and drones. But no tools can take the place of specialized knowledge – which is what we’ve spent years acquiring.
A leading authority on lithium battery safety
Our team has become one of the region’s leading authorities on lithium battery safety. One of our founding members is part of NFPA 855 Standard on Energy Storage Systems. And, along with ESRG, we operate an energy storage research and testing center in Piqua, Ohio. At this facility, we (along with ESRG) have performed medium- and large-scale burns of lithium batteries for research and investigation purposes.
We’re here to help.
Safety is always our goal, but when something goes wrong, we are the trusted resource you can turn to for expert lithium battery fire investigations.