New legislation would allocate funding for lithium-ion battery fire response training

Source: WPRI.com
Author: Sarah Doiron

COVENTRY, R.I. (WPRI) -- State lawmakers have introduced a budget item that would better prepare firefighters to battle fires caused by lithium-ion batteries.

The resolution, sponsored by Coventry Rep. Thomas Noret, would allocate $60,000 of the state's budget for the 2025 fiscal year to the Rhode Island Fire Academy.

The Rhode Island Fire Academy would use the money to provide firefighters with the specialized training necessary to knock down lithium-ion battery fires effectively and safely.

Central Coventry Fire Chief Frank Brown told 12 News the specialized training would benefit his firefighters, especially after last week's fire at the Glenwood Park Apartments.

Brown said the fire was sparked by a lithium-ion battery attached to a boy's electric bike. The boy had plugged the bike into an outlet to charge shortly before it exploded, he added.

State fire investigators determined the charger that the boy was using was incompatible with the e-bike's battery.

Brown said there's been a recent uptick in the number of lithium-ion battery fires his firefighters have responded to.

"It seems to be increasing as the time goes on here," Brown said.

Rhode Island Fire Training Academy Director Mark Pare told 12 News the vast majority of the money would be used to train about 50 firefighters statewide.

"We will use this funding to extend our training to all fire departments in the state -- both career and volunteer," Pare said, adding that the firefighters who are trained initially will eventually share their newfound expertise with other departments.

Pare said the training format is similar to the one the academy used to teach firefighters how to tackle solar panel fires.

"When solar panels first came out, we really didn't know what to do or how to deal with them," Pare said. "But we learned that through research, experimentation and training -- that's how we do it."

Since the technology is still relatively new, Pare said it will take time for the Rhode Island Fire Academy to thoroughly teach recruits how to battle lithium-ion battery fires.

"We don't have the knowledge or the experience just yet [with lithium-ion battery fires], so we haven't fully incorporated it into our training," he continued. "We've incorporated a little bit of it into our current curriculum. We need to expand that, but we also need to learn what to teach them."

That's why his first priority is to "train the trainers," meaning the firefighters who are currently on the job and could find themselves battling a lithium-ion battery fire in the near future.

"Every single community will benefit from this," Pare said of the resolution. "It's critical to our mission, which is to get everyone trained on the best possible techniques for the safety of our residents."

The legislation has been referred to the House Committee on Finance and has not yet been discussed.