Dunkirk chief offers reassurance on BESS
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Battery Energy Storage Systems do offer unique hazards, Dunkirk Fire Chief Nicholas Barter said last week. However, as he pointed out, "Everything has risk -- everything we do."
BESS discussion was the highlight of a talk Barter gave to Revitalize Dunkirk's quarterly meeting.
"At some point, it's going to be here," he said. "I'm going to recognize that for what it is, at the scale of a community and a hazard we have to plan for."
The systems store varying amounts of power from the electric grid, for release in times of high demand. "We've been working with developers because we have concerns as well," Barter said.
"There is definitely a risk with them -- but it is projected to everyone's mind by high profile incidents," he said. Barter mentioned a major January 2025 fire in Moss Landing, California, that prompted evacuations. The fire briefly rekindled in September during cleanup operations.
However, he noted, every BESS is different -- and part of what led to and worsened the Moss Landing fire was the enclosure of storage arrays in a concrete building. The two BESS proposals for Dunkirk would be open-air. One of the proposals is approved for currently unused land several hundred yards from Brigham Road, another is sought closer to the same road but not approved.
Barter said his department will approach open-air BESS fires with the attitude of, "It's almost let it burn."
He acknowledged that is an unusual tactic, but said it is occasionally used with chemical fires. "It does sound bad, but there is a plan out there."
Barter said that “absolutely, 100% there has to be an emergency response plan" before a BESS is approved.
However, he explained, “Everything has risk, everything we do. Each industry in our city has its own unique risks. Our job is to make sure that if this (BESS) shows up, we're prepared to respond."
A BESS site would be remotely monitored by computer equipment, Barter continued. Any incident would trigger a warning that would make a BESS company representative contact the fire department within 15 minutes.
Barter said he asked for, and received, more hydrants in the area of the approved Brigham Road BESS to improve fire protection. He also got a guarantee that air monitoring will be provided in the area.
Someone asked about possible soil contamination from BESS arrays, wondering if they would run off into Lake Erie. Barter acknowledged there may be some leakage, but according to his research, it will be contained in the immediate property.
Another person declared that the biggest worries for the Dunkirk Fire Department are wood-frame house fires and provision of emergency medical services to an aging population. As for BESS, "I am not worried about that at all."
Barter replied, "They don't keep me up at night. A fire in an occupied apartment building, that concerns me."
Nevertheless, he told his audience, "You're completely OK to have concerns with it."