Understanding Post Mitigation Efforts After the Battery Response
The purpose of this training is to provide participants with a working understanding of fire response profiles and best practices for battery incidents.
This recording is from the SEAC General Meeting on May 28, 2026.
As lithium-ion batteries proliferate, the fire service is confronting a hazard profile unlike anything in its operational history. This presentation from the May 2026 SEAC General Meeting—led by Michael O’Brian, Fire Chief of Brighton Area Fire Authority (BAFA)—opens with a comparative review of fire response profiles across incident categories. Mobility incidents center on identification challenges, high-volume water cooling, and thermal runaway. Residential ESS responses emphasize power isolation, ventilation, and exposure protection. Commercial and utility-scale BESS events require pre-plans, defensive posture, and reliance on the site’s Hazard Mitigation Analysis and Emergency Response Plan. The session then covers the post-response phase. The audience will leave with a working understanding of response profiles by occupancy type, the science of stranded energy, and field-tested best practices.
Michael O’Brian has served as Fire Chief of BAFA in Brighton, Michigan for over two decades, bringing extensive leadership experience in fire operations, firefighter fitness, and community risk reduction. He has 26+ years in the fire service, with a strong focus on operational excellence, firefighter wellness, and proactive prevention. Michael has serves as a Board Member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Chair of the International Code Council (ICC) Fire Code Action Committee, and Chair of the IAFC Committee on Lithium-Ion Batteries.
