No response plan listed as a factor in Sunrise explosion
FirefighterNation Staff
SURPRISE, Arizona — AZCentral reported that when a large battery powering a neighborhood in Surprise, Arizona exploded in April 2019, the lack of a response plan for firefighters was a contributing factor.
The lack of a plan was one of several contributing factors for the explosion at the McMicken Energy Storage facility, owned by Arizona Public Service Company.
Two minutes after firefighters opened a door on the facility, about two hours after arriving on the scene, the facility exploded.
Eight firefighters and one police officer were sent to the hospital.
APS officials said they will take the lessons learned to improve safety at future battery installations. The battery that exploded at McMicken was 2 megawatts.
APS plans to install an additional 850 megawatts of batteries around the state.
Read the Report:
McMicken Battery Energy Storage System Event Technical Analysis and Recommendations
