Fire in battery storage facility contained

Area officials are monitoring a fire at a lithium-ion battery storage facility on County Route 1 in Warwick.

According to published reports, the fire started Monday, June 26 at a storage facility located near the Warwick Valley Central School District’s transportation building and burned through Tuesday.

The following update was provided by Convergent Energy and Power:

“The Warwick police department, Warwick fire department, Orange County emergency services, Convergent Energy and Power, and the battery storage system manufacturer, Powin, have representatives on-site actively managing the situation and coordinating the response. The fire remains contained to the site and is likely to continue throughout the rest of today. Industry best practice is being followed by maintaining a safe distance and allowing combustible material to deteriorate. It is not recommended to use water to suppress a battery storage fire. We encourage the public to continue avoiding the area until further notice.

Convergent and its response teams, along with Powin, have also been actively monitoring their other battery energy storage installation in the Town of Warwick, which also experienced a minor incident on the evening of June 26. No fire was reported at this location and the site remains stable with personnel monitoring 24/7.

Our primary focus right now is working with the response team to ensure the safety of emergency services personnel and within the surrounding community. Hazmat has been monitoring air quality throughout the event and measurements have all been within normal parameters.

The next couple of days will be used by Convergent and Powin to gather additional data and allow the formulation of a plan for the facilities. This information will be shared with all emergency services.”

Convergent Energy and Power said it will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.