LIMITED-EDITION POSTERS
Last month, we ran a first-time promotion for a free limited edition poster set when you joined or added users to MeyerFire University. We’re happy to say that they’ve been shipped, are large (24x36), look great, and many of you (thank you!) reached out about procuring a set.

We ordered extras and are doing what the kids call a limited “drop” from now until they run out!

If you were interested before but missed the deal, now’s your chance. 

Conversely, we’ll also honor the same deal we had before, where you can get the set for free if you join MeyerFire University or add two or more seats to your existing account.

Again – this deal is good only until we run out of prints. You can get the set here!

GET STARTED ON PE EXAM PREP NOW
On a related note, if you know someone who’s looking to take the Fire Protection P.E. Exam next April, let them know that now’s a great time to book their coursework (and get posters too!).

For nearly a decade now, we’ve heard from licensed FPEs that the earlier you get started, the easier studying becomes and the amount of practice you can get in helps you pass without it all becoming overwhelming.

We now have eleven PE-specific courses alongside 400+ PE practice questions, and a live analytics dashboard that gives real-time feedback on how you’re improving. We spent nearly 4,000 hours just this past year building entirely new courses, questions, and new content to help you pass!

By Jocelyn Sarrantonio, PE | Technical Director, MeyerFire
 
Think State of the Union, but today I’m going to talk about the State of ESS in Fire Protection. So without further ado, members of the community, today I have the privilege and honor of discussing battery energy storage systems. Please clap. [Applause Please]

Just kidding, but today I wanted to talk about where we are as a fire protection community with regards to the response to the widescale adoption of battery energy storage systems (BESS) practically everywhere.
 
THERMAL RUNAWAY
If you didn’t take my Introduction to ESS course (shameless plug for our recent course, Introduction to Energy Storage Systems), the primary risk that comes with BESS, particularly lithium-ion batteries, is their susceptibility to thermal runaway.

Thermal runaway is a process resulting from a battery failure, where cells inside a battery undergo a rapid temperature increase and vent flammable gases, creating an explosion risk.
​
The risk is proportional to the quantity of batteries in an installation, so you can imagine if we’re not even allowed to have lithium-ion batteries in our checked bags on airplanes, then enormous utility installations pose a substantially higher risk. 

The risk has been a part of our lives for years, so what are we learning about ESS?
 
#1 THE FIRE RISK CAN BE LONG-LASTING.
It can take large volumes of water to sufficiently extinguish and cool fires involving ESS, and due to the stranded energy in battery cells, re-ignition is a risk.

Even battery cells that are not plugged into anything can still undergo thermal runaway, if they are abused.

Emergency responders typically use thermal detectors to find any hot spots after a fire is extinguished, but it is critical to continue monitoring for longer than you’d think after a battery fire. Re-ignition can happen months after the fire! That’s long after the emergency responders have left, so there's a need to develop a protocol to monitor and prevent re-ignition.
 
#2 REGULATION OF E-SCOOTERS, E-BIKES & OTHER MICROMOBILITY DEVICES
In large cities where space is hard to come by and small lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, tighter regulation of micromobility devices is coming.

In New York City, for example, the market has been flooded with low-cost and unsafe products, partially due to the rise of food delivery apps.

The delivery workforce generally earns low wages, and there is no accountability from the app companies on the micromobility devices used. So the workforce is not motivated to purchase quality products, and the result is low-quality batteries being charged inside densely populated buildings.  
 
#3 SHIFTING PUBLIC PERCEPTION
Public perception may start to shift.

We’ve seen the videos of battery fires that include large plumes of smoke, and it’s hard not to imagine how local residents are faring.

Public pushback about BESS projects has increased following recent fire incidents, and the path forward likely includes educating the public to ease their concerns.

Even though the public directly benefits from lower electricity costs or stability of the utility grid, people are not willing to sacrifice safety and negatively impact their community. I’m not sure what that looks like, but it does seem like with any large project, developers have a responsibility to educate the people who are negatively impacted when there is an emergency situation.

If you want to build in someone’s backyard, you’ve got to convince them that what you’re doing is safe, and is a benefit to them.

Maybe that means highlighting training of your staff, the safety of the equipment you’re buying, or investing in local emergency responder equipment.

CONSUMER SAFETY
On the face of it, BESS safety is not just an area of concern for us as fire protection engineers, but as consumers as well.

Lithium-ion batteries are in our cellphones, laptops, electric vehicles, solar panels, and e-bikes. It’s important to note that when we talk about energy storage systems, the IFC and NFPA 855 have a threshold of 20 kWh where these requirements kick in.

For reference and speaking in rough orders of magnitude, a laptop battery might be 0.1 kWh, a phone might be 0.015 kWh, an electric scooter may be 1.5 kWh, EV’s may be up to 100 kWh, but a large Tesla Megapack that would be used in a utility grid installation is up to 4000 kWh, or 4 MWh. 

The risk of thermal runaway exists in all of these products, but the impact is greater as the capacities increase. 

As a consumer, if it is an option you should always buy products that have a mark from a nationally recognized testing laboratory (NRTL). What does that mean? Without getting too far into the weeds, there are several organizations, the most prominent one being UL, that test consumer electronics including TV’s, computers, and even Christmas tree lights.

When a product “bears the UL mark” it means it went through rigorous testing and complies with UL’s safety standards.

​That’s not saying there is no risk, but when we’re talking about a product which carries some inherent risk already, having a genuine product that complies with some standard of safety is even more important. 

It may be tempting to buy the cheapest version of a product, but using non-certified products, or even worse, fake products, can increase the potential risk for fire. This is because those products haven’t been tested to safety standards and they do not necessarily meet those higher quality and safety thresholds. 

You should also follow all manufacturers’ guidance when it comes to temperature control, clearances, ventilation, and where and how to charge devices.

We never want to charge these devices where they will block access to an exit.

Thinking about where people who drive e-scooters might live, it’s probably in a densely occupied apartment structure, and where they may charge their scooter, it’s probably by a door. Many apartments and condos only have one common path of travel, so if there’s a problem it may block the only exit and now a bad situation is worse. 

TRENDS IN INDUSTRY RESPONSE
Some of the trends the industry is seeing come in the form of alternate electrolyte recipes, methods of early detection, and more large-scale fire testing for extinguishing agents. 

First, if lithium-ion batteries are the problem, why don’t we just use different batteries? 

The reason this is even a challenge is that the industry quickly adopted lithium-ion batteries because they are lighter than their historical predecessor, lead-acid batteries. They also have a higher power density, so they can either take up a smaller footprint for the same capacity or get a higher capacity with the same footprint. 

It’s not a perfect analogy, but I think this is akin to the fire protection industry’s history halon as a fire extinguishing agent. 

Halon is a gaseous fire suppression agent that is quite effective, but then we learned how bad it was for the environment, so the industry shifted to other solutions. These other solutions may not be as effective as halon, but they sure outweigh halon’s major disadvantage. 

Similarly, the strategy here is to find other battery chemistries that may not be as inexpensive or energy-dense as lithium-ion, but that outweigh lithium-ion’s major disadvantage. 

Another strategy for the industry is smarter products, which can detect thermal runaway earlier, leaving more time for response. 

I’m keeping a discerning eye out for new products that include more sensitive gas detection, thermal imaging, or other sensors that will help us design more robust systems that mitigate explosion risk. 

Lastly is more large-scale fire test data for extinguishing agents. The code opens the door for alternative extinguishing agents, but I have yet to see good large-scale fire test data for these non-water based agents. There may be a reason for that, if they are ineffective, but so much of our design criteria is based on testing, so I’m looking forward to more data to help us validate design criteria. 

CODE DEVELOPMENT
As you probably are aware, the codes are doing their best to keep pace with the risks, in a reasonable timeline. 
​
The IFC has been revised extensively since 2018 to integrate ESS requirements, and the latest 2024 Edition brings it largely in agreement with the 2023 version of NFPA 855. That standard is currently undergoing its normal revision cycle, with a new edition set to be published in 2026.

It is expected that the 2026 Edition will include additional large-scale fire testing requirements beyond the current UL9540A testing and further development of the Hazard Mitigation Analysis (HMA) procedures.  

With each jurisdiction’s unique adoption of its building and fire codes, there is an opportunity for further amendment of these standards.

It is critical to verify if a jurisdiction has any amendments to the generic code language for ESS and to verify if there are any special permitting procedures for ESS. My next course, coming this quarter, will be a review of the major code requirements for ESS.
 
PROBLEMS THAT REMAIN
It seems that the world is not going to soon give up on the use of lithium-ion batteries in BESS installations, so the toughest challenge that remains is how to deal with the explosion risk.

The tools we have at our disposal, NFPA 68 & 69, were not developed with BESS in mind, but can be part of a layered approach to addressing the explosion risk.

Since we are a prescriptive code-driven industry (in North America at least), we look for guidance on how to design these systems or how to perform these evaluations from the codes & standards themselves. I’m really looking forward to any new guidance in these documents to help give us consensus on how to approach the risk.
 
BEST PRACTICES: SO WHAT DO I DO?
If you are a fire protection engineer (or anyone) involved in an ESS installation, the basic process is as follows:

• EDUCATE: Educate yourself on how you may see ESS in your work.
  
  
• PRODUCT DATA: Gather the data. You will need product data for the ESS and the associated UL9540A test report.
  
  This is the fundamental information you will need to design the system spacing, ventilation, and associated fire protection systems.
  
  
• DEFLAGRATION OR EXPLOSION CONTROL: Evaluate the need for deflagration or explosion control. 
  
  This can have major impact on a design, depending on where the ESS is intended to be installed. Identifying where pressure-relief vents or exhaust ductwork can be routed is key.
  
  
• ENGINEERED SYSTEM INTERFACES: What systems are available that can interface with the BESS?
  
  Understanding the battery monitoring system to determine if information can be used for emergency control functions.
  
  
• COUNSEL OWNERS ON THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES: Many jurisdictions are focusing on the commissioning plans, yes, but also decommissioning plans.
  
  What is the life cycle of these batteries, and how will they be disposed of safely once they have reached their useful life?
  
  Because of the unique hazard BESS can have with stranded energy, you can’t just stack old equipment in a storage room and deal with it later. IFC 2024 also has a new requirement for a fire safety and evacuation plan to be included with the BESS construction documents.
  
  As fire protection engineers, we need to do our best to make owners aware of their increased responsibilities.
  
  

WHAT’S NEXT?
There’s quite a bit to keep up with. Many of us in this space are watching the development unfold. Deployments will only increase as utility grids move toward lower reliance on fossil fuels. Monitoring changes in codes, battery chemistries, and expectations of the public, owners, and AHJs will be needed to build trust and achieve reasonably safe outcomes.  Staying current and educated is our challenge today. Rigorous testing and proactive stakeholder engagement will be important as we all move forward to safer energy storage systems.

So in conclusion, the State of our Union is strong!

​Thanks for reading, until next time, stay safe, and always check your local jurisdiction’s amendments!

by Jocelyn Sarrantonio, PE
​Technical Director, MeyerFire

Last week, I had the annual pleasure of attending the NFPA Conference & Expo, this year held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Throughout my career and various workplaces, I’ve attended my fair share of conferences, because education and learning about new things is important—especially in fire protection, where it’s easy to get complacent in your tiny sliver of the world and forget the rest of the varied organizations and parts of the industry care about.
 
FAMILIAR EVENT, NEW ROLE
At the NFPA C&E, I learn so many things and have great conversations, simply by wandering the Expo. Even for a semi-introvert like me, I find it invigorating.

This year was different, though. It was my first year on the exhibitor’s side.
​
I joined MeyerFire in May, and one of my first questions for Joe was, “Do you want me at the NFPA Conference?” The answer, of course, was yes! As an exhibitor, this is the marquee event to meet and talk to people in person, whether they’re old colleagues or new friends.

IN-PERSON VALUE
Attending this year as an exhibitor, and my first as MeyerFire’s Technical Director, was quite a different experience.

First and foremost, you don’t have to be up at 8 a.m. for Technical Sessions! But most importantly, this was my first time meeting my new coworkers in person. 

The three of us at MeyerFire work remotely, and remotely from each other.

Erik is in Kansas, Joe is in Missouri, and I’m in New York.

This is my first experience working a fully remote job, and I know there’s no replacement for meeting people face-to-face.

Even at former employers, I encouraged staff to attend conferences not just for training, but to connect with each other.

​In today’s remote environment, many teams work “together” day after day via Teams, but have never met in person. It’s invaluable to create those real-world connections that help people see how they fit into the industry as a whole.

BRINGING MEYERFIRE TO LIFE
This year’s Expo experience gave me the chance to see the people behind the usernames—those who post on the forums, enroll in the courses, and engage with the MeyerFire platform. It brought all those things to life.

Like many of you, I’ve interacted with MeyerFire content for a while—who hasn’t? Experiencing that relief when you Google an obscure fire protection question and see a MeyerFire forum post as the first hit, you know you’re going to get your answer, or at least a good discussion!

It was exciting to talk about fire protection education with existing superfans, people new to the industry grabbing nuggets of information for their supervisors, or those eager to sign up their interns for our training. And while I enjoy a good, long conversation about training, I equally appreciated when people stopped by just to say they were fans of MeyerFire before heading on their way.

I loved meeting from the Forum, people who took the classes to study for (and pass!) the PE, or who just came by to say “Hey, you put out some really good stuff.” I got to see the cross-section of the community that MeyerFire has built, everyone in their own ways working toward a common goal of improving the industry. 

I took lots of notes—and I can’t wait to incorporate these new ideas into courses and content in the coming year.

I heard you: more fire alarm, special hazards, site fire protection, and inspection checklists!

Coming from the consulting engineering side, it was also enlightening to talk to folks in the insurance industry and AHJ’s, to hear how they interact with the tools and what sort of learning they are thirsty for. That’s a perspective I haven’t been exposed to very much, so I’m looking forward to continuing those conversations and incorporating those perspectives into courses.

Specifically, we want training on being able to identify equipment in the field.

Most of us can probably remember our first job site visit, and being completely overwhelmed by everything in front of us. I’m looking forward to developing some content that can break down systems, so learners can identify the fundamentals, and those first site visits aren’t so intimidating. 

THE BOOTH!
Pulling back the curtain and seeing the Expo from the vendor side, it was kind of like watching your parents cook dinner or fold laundry.

As a kid you may have taken it for granted that food just appears on the table or the clean clothes magically end up in your drawer, but watching how the sausage is made was pretty amusing.

Even though I was a self-proclaimed booth princess and Erik and Joe did most of the work, I have a lot more appreciation for how these things get put together! Nothing just appears; everything has to be planned well in advance, down to knowing how much power you need for everything in your booth (want to upgrade to 10 amps? Two outlets?).

And you either fly with everything you’ll need, carefully packed with your homemade packing guide so as not to exceed airline weight limits, you buy it there on site, or it’s hauled in from the loading dock (also not free). Either way it’s all set up and ready to go just in time.

Hosting a conference in Las Vegas is a whole industry unto itself. If you ever want a deal on TVs, chairs, or carpet squares, just show up on conference breakdown day! 

​I can also see why they’re so strict with not letting folks into the hall beforehand, there’s such a flurry of activity before and after, you might get run over by a forklift if you’re not careful.

THE CHATS
Other than learning what a rockstar Joe Meyer is (seriously, at some points there would be a line of people waiting to talk), I just really enjoyed talking to people about learning, teaching, and training new staff.

In my experience as a manager, it was something I felt acutely, the challenge of how to train new staff and bring them up to speed quickly.

You start teaching new employees how to space VESDA sampling ports in data centers, but you have to keep backing up and teaching fundamentals of air-aspirating detection, fire alarm systems, and code pathways in order to get there. That’s the great part about what MeyerFire University offers. The focus is teaching those fundamentals, so that the training conversations with your new employees go so much further because you can focus on the things that are specific to what you do.

I’m grateful to have a job where I can contribute to creating industry-wide impact. In the short time since I’ve been here, I’ve been simultaneously impressed with how much work goes into the content, and also how quickly good ideas create a spark and can come  together really quickly. MeyerFire is a pretty lean operation, but when you focus on using your resources, efficiency and skills, it’s amazing what you can accomplish!

I’m happy to be along for the ride, and I look forward to sharing my perspective and helping to bring to life the course roadmap we’ve put together.  

TECHNICAL SESSIONS & FUTURE TOPICS
In addition to representing MeyerFire at the Expo, I was able to attend a few Technical Sessions. I’m always impressed by the industry’s willingness to share new developments for the good of us all.

As a manager, I used to encourage my team to not only attend sessions relevant to our work, but also one “out there” session on something completely new or interesting.

Some of my most memorable sessions have come from these choices, because often, no matter how different the topic, the fundamental challenges are the same.

One of my favorite sessions ever was in San Antonio in 2018, where the fire marshals from Coachella and Burning Man led a panel discussion about fire safety issues at large festivals. No kidding!

And you know what it all boiled down to?

Open and honest communication between AHJs and the public to come together and meet the goals of the attendees and manage risk.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Outcomes are much more positive when the stakeholders communicate honestly with each other about what they’re trying to achieve.

And as a recovering design consultant for mission-critical facilities, I always attend every session I can on data centers and energy storage systems, and there was no lack of those this year.

There are new challenges in mission-critical facilities as the world adopts AI. Data centers with AI computing have increased power density and are adopting liquid cooling strategies, so I am interested in how this impacts fire protection system design strategies. I’m also eager to see where we go as an industry to protect against the explosion hazards presented by lithium-ion batteries.

More on that in the future, I’m currently working on my next course, which will get deeper into energy storage system requirements.

LET'S CONNECT
If we didn’t get the chance to connect at the NFPA C&E, I’d love to hear from you! Connect with me on LinkedIn or shoot us a note here in the comments below.

Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay safe, and always check your worksets!

- Jocelyn

It’s July.
 
I have a question for you – in January of 2026, where will you be?
 
What will you be doing?
 
Who will you be?
 
SITUATIONAL IMPROVEMENT
July isn’t exactly a time for New Year’s Resolutions, but we’re squarely halfway through the year.
 
Coincidental timing that I just discovered – 6 months ago I wrote a piece on how, practically, we can create improvement in our own working life. (https://www.meyerfire.com/blog/its-my-fault-so-what-has-to-change)
 
The concept is fairly simple. If I want different results than what I’m getting today, then I first need to accept the responsibility for my own path, and be actively willing to alter my own trajectory.
 
The concept is – it’s my fault – now what do I need to change about my situation?
 
WHAT HAS TO CHANGE?
Today, I want to expand on that just slightly.
 
Six months from today – what has to change? What do you want to be different? Who do you need to become to achieve that?
 
If you’re fine with everything staying the same just as it is today, then great! You’ve found a nice niche. Build on it and continue the course.
 
But if there are things that you’d wish were better. Were easier. Were less-stressful. Were more impactful… then it’s time to take action on altering what things look like six months from now.
 
Just in my own experience, it’s the 6-month window where the change actually comes to fruition.
 
I’m not talking about short-term tasks. Short-term goals. Easily achievable things.
 
I’m talking about the things we wished were better.
 
IMMEDIATE IMPACT?
My common expectation is that if I work on something hard enough, I’ll immediately see an impact; immediately see results.
 
That’s just not how big, impactful things happen.
 
It seems like the effort is more like pushing a giant boulder down a slight slope. I can push and push and push, but I hardly see any traction at all—hardly any momentum.

​​Yet, if I keep at it for long enough, eventually it starts to roll.
 
Applying the same effort to that boulder starts to get more and more movement.
 
Eventually, with time, it starts to roll.
 
With momentum, the pushing gets easier, and the movement starts to happen. Eventually, under its own momentum, the boulder starts to move faster and faster, where pushing isn’t needed at all.
 
That’s the 6-month mark.
 
The problem I have is that my expectation feels like the return should be short. Should be in days, maybe weeks.
​

 
But in reality, for big impactful things that truly affect our current situation, it’s that 6-month mark where results are notably different.
​

  
That doesn’t happen without a whole lot of effort, but it still takes time before that impact hits.
 
YOUR VIEW
What do you need to have changed in your life come January?
 
What change in direction can you make that alters your course?
 
What do you wish could be better?
 
Are you pushing that boulder now?
 
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

​What result do you want to achieve that is different from what you have now?

​Are you willing to make the change?
 
 

p.s. This is the last in a two-part series where I’ve talked about development and the impact-related world I’ve lived in recently, and what I’ve learned from living there.
 
In the coming weeks, I’m very excited to share new articles from Jocelyn Sarrantonio (our new Technical Director and also a Fire Protection Engineer); I think you’ll find her writing to be similarly accessible, casual, and thoughtful, but with a new perspective and different areas of expertise. I’ll continue to contribute, of course, but between the two of us, my hope is that you’ll get to read new content more frequently.
 
Thanks for reading and have a great rest of your week!
 
- Joe