The latest fire this summer at a battery storage facility, this time near Lyme and Chaumont, N.Y., is prompting calls for action by state lawmakers.

The late-July fire burned for more than four days and ended up involving four trailers on the site of Convergent Energy & Power’s site in Lyme while raising concerns among residents in the rural area about the safety of air after the lengthy firefighting effort. Residents within a 1-square-mile radius of the scene were told to shelter in place for several hours during the fire and a Community Days event was canceled as a precaution.

One of the problems raised by first responders fighting the fire was not knowing what was in the batteries or other chemicals in the area. The legislators said it took between six and eight hours for Convergent Energy to provide data firefighters needed at the scene of July’s battery storage site fire. Assemblyman Scott Gray, R-Watertown, and Sen. Mark Walczyk, R- Watertown, have introduced A.7972/S.7622 to require solar farms to post safety data sheets in areas that may be accessed by emergency responders in the case of a fire or other emergency.

The bill could have some local effect as Electrovaya works to open a new factory in Jamestown making its patented type of lithium ion batteries.

“Lithium-ion batteries are known to cause explosive accidents. When ignited, they create extreme amount of fire because of ‘thermal runaway,'” Gray and Walczyk wrote in their legislative memorandum. “These fires also result in the release of flammable gas, which can make the fires worse and more difficult to put out. In these situations, it is crucial for first responders to have the necessary tools to fight these unusual, but increasingly common, catastrophes.”

In addition to proposing legislation, Walczyk called for a freeze in battery storage facilities until a full investigation into the Chaumont fire is finished while also calling on the state Attorney General’s office to investigate Convergent Energy and the DEC to make sure there wasn’t environmental damage to the area as a result of the fire.

“When the community accepted the solar developers’ proposal, they were trying to go green, not expose residents of Lyme and Chaumont to carbon monoxide, phosphoryl fluoride, hydrogen fluoride, and who knows what else. The AG needs to bring those responsible to justice,” Walczyk said. “And, where’s the parity? When a snowmobile falls through the ice the DEC fines the owner $1,000 a day. What’s the daily fine for a solar company who’s made the air too caustic to breathe? I call on the Department of Environmental Conservation to impose daily fines against Convergent Energy until the human health and environmental disaster they’ve caused is completely remedied.”

In the weeks since the fire, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the opening of a similar state-owned facility in Chataeaugay in Franklin County. The 20-megawatt facility installed and operated by the New York Power Authority connects into the state’s electric grid. The facility, maintained and operated by the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project, consists of five 53-foot walk-in enclosures, each with more than 19,500 batteries grouped in modules and stacked in racks to store renewable power produced when it isn’t needed and dispatch it when it is needed. Each container pulls in and can disperse 4 megawatts of power, enough to power roughly 3,000 homes.

Hochul did, after the Chaumont fire, create a working group that will include NYSERDA, the state Public Service Department and others to make safety inspections of energy storage sites and create training and safety plans.

“”Following multiple fire safety incidents across New York, I’ve directed state agencies to immediately form the Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group to mobilise the personnel and resources necessary to keep New Yorkers safe,” Hochul said. “The working group will collaborate with first responders and local leaders to identify best practices, address potential risks to public safety, and ensure energy storage sites across New York are safe and effective.”