Lithium Ion Batteries: Operations Level

Lithium-ion batteries have fundamentally changed the modern fireground. These incidents are faster, more violent, and more complex than traditional fires, and they introduce hazards that firefighters were never previously trained to manage. This four-part series provides operations-level firefighters with a practical, experience-driven understanding of lithium-ion battery behavior, failure mechanisms, and real-world response challenges. Using case studies, video analysis, and firefighter-focused explanations, the course reframes how responders should think about batteries that start fires and batteries that are simply present in the fire environment. Across all modules, firefighters learn how thermal runaway develops, why decision-making windows are dramatically shorter, and how batteries create secondary hazards such as electrocution, deflagration, rapid fire spread, gas migration, and delayed rekindles. The series emphasizes mindset, size-up, and operational awareness rather than rigid tactics, recognizing that lithium-ion battery response continues to evolve.