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Jeremy Hopwood

warwickWC9WA

There was another battery storage fire in Warwick. Flames broke out at a battery storage facility Friday on Church Street, and as News Twelve's Jeremy Hopwood reports, this isn't the first time this has happened. A battery fire broke out here at this industrial site on Church Street in Warwick yesterday afternoon. Officials are working hard to keep people safe, but they're also short on answers. Assistant chief advised that he had a working fire in the battery storage unit. Convergent Energy already reached out to us and advised to stay away. And await further orders from them. We maintained a safe perimeter and started air quality monitoring. We asked the Convergent Energy spokesman directly if the fire was out. It's it's still an active event. Residents like Elizabeth Ribby, who also has children in the Warwick school system, are reminded of a major fire from 2023 at a similar convergent energy battery facility that lasted two days. We just saw about like. 15 different fire trucks go racing that way. They were going like every 5 seconds another truck was coming from other places. You'd think they would learn. The 3rd time something like this has happened. While we're being told that the air quality readings here are safe, they have not been publicly released, and Convergent Energy and Power has yet to share any insight as to the possible cause of this battery storage fire, a situation that Warwick residents know all too well. In Warwick, Orange County, Jeremy Hopwood, News 12.

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Look at this video from Chopper 12 in Orange County for a developing story there right now. Maybe you've seen this big kind of smoke plume around Warwick hazmat crews and other agencies are fighting a lithium ion battery fire right now at a storage plant there. You can see these different storage units and flames there. And this one kind of burned out town supervisor Michael Sweet says the fire started in a container with batteries on Warwick school district property. So people at administrative offices and 1.5 mile have been asked to leave and evacuate. Warwick firefighters say the fire is contained and luckily no one has been hurt, but this is a developing story. So we do have Chapter 12 checking it out and we will have more information for you on the news at 10.

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Alarming new information. Tonight, we are now learning that dozens of toxins were found in air quality tests during a three day lithium ion battery fire in Warwick. Our blaze, Gomez has been covering this story all week long and she's back with this exclusive update. People nearby said it smelled like burning glue. There were levels of officials now confirming dozens of toxins were found in air quality tests during a lithium ion battery fire at Convergent Power and energy in Warwick. But they will not release the name of the the results of these investigations will be shared with the public as soon as they are concluded. Authorities do say so far readings appear to be safe. The facility here that caught fire is right on school grounds near three schools, their athletic fields and their bus rush back to back has met emergencies this week newly opened locations in Warwick on County route one and Church Street. We were there Thursday when fire officials rushed in for the second time while the company's fire on school grounds still smoldered. After three days, there are 11 40 ft shipping containers on site stores energy in these megawatt battery containers for orange and Rockland utilities. The company confirmed Friday that the batteries are newly designed and being used for the first time ever at their locations in Warwick. The batteries are manufactured by Oregon Based company. We are incredibly passionate about the product that we are delivering. As we have reported, multiple research studies shows lithium ion batteries emit toxic fluoride chemicals when they're burned. We reached out to the company for information about their batteries but haven't heard back. I think the state of New York which is promoting this needs to take a step back and say we need to evaluate safety protocols, locations and all of those issues in Warwick blaze, Gomez News 12. All right, we are going to talk about some weather. Next meteorologist Addison Green is here. But officials say both battery plants are now offline until company officials and authorities can determine what is wrong with that equipment. Stay with News 12 for the very latest on this developing story.

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And news 12 back on the scene tonight as fire crews rushed to another report of a lithium ion battery fire at a company in Warwick. This is all happening just as the first fire at the company's other location on school district grounds is starting to burn out our blaze. Gomez has the latest. That terrible smell down here is gone. Now that the fire is reduced to a smolder. Folks here described that as the smell of glue burning and officials now tell me that was likely the smell of the plastic covering on the batteries that were burning. It all started at the Warwick School District complex Monday night near three schools, their bus garage and athletic fields. The lithium ion batteries inside these storage containers on school property are also right near a massive propane tank and fuel pumps and they somehow caught fire during the storm. The batteries supply energy to orange and Rocklands power grid and are owned by the company Convergent which rents space from the school district. I didn't know it was there. I had no idea. A lot of folks in town say they didn't know about the newly opened facility or the company's second location in the village on Church Street. We were there on Thursday as fire crews rushed to that location. After reports of a second fire, authorities said there were near simultaneous possible storm related incidents at both locations on Monday night. That might be to blame for what's going on. The district closed their buildings all week because of the first fire. While authorities monitored the air quality. We found multiple research report online that lithium ion batteries emit toxic fluoride when they catch fire. But authorities say readings turned up safe. They said that 9 11 folks in town are skeptical and so far the Warwick school district is remaining tight lipped about when the plans were approved and whether the public was notified, officials say public meetings were held for the location in the village. We don't know what's going on right now in Warwick Blaze, Gomez News 12 and we do have calls out to officials about the reported fire at the second location tonight. So far though we have not heard back from them.

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We begin tonight with Team 12 coverage on a story we've been tracking for you since it broke a stubborn fire. As you see here still burning tonight in Orange County sparked by lithium ion batteries. The device has burned so hot. There isn't much firefighters can do. And tonight news twelve's Diane Caruso is uncovering more about safety concerns while our blaze, Gomez is on the scene with what officials are saying. We went down to the site just for a bit and couldn't stay very long because of how bad the smell is. We're about a half mile away here at the Warwick Fire Department and we're just starting to be able to smell it. Now, down at the scene, we could see hazmat crews and police while the fire continues to burn, it smells like glue that can't be good for you despite the strong smell hovering over the Convergent energy and power facility that's on fire. Authorities say right now there is no cause for concern. The company has lithium ion batteries inside these containers housed on Warwick school grounds. They store energy for Orange and Rockland utilities and officials say the batteries they use caught fire during the storm on Monday night, Hazmat has been monitoring air quality throughout the event and measurements have all been within normal parameters. Is the manufacturer of the batteries. We found multiple research reports online that show lithium ion batteries emit toxic fluoride gas emissions. When they catch fire. We have a call out to pow to see if they did any similar studies on their batteries and the results if they catch fire. Officials say the blaze is one of two back to back incidents both here and at Convergence's second location nearby in the village of Warwick on Church Street. They wouldn't say what that incident was, but a source tells news 12 that they both may have been caused by lightning or a power surge during the storm. Officials say the only thing they can do now is let the fire burn itself out and neighbors aren't happy. I'm 66. I had two strokes. I don't need to breathe this. Did you know this facility was just down the road? No idea in Warwick blaze, Gomez News 12. And we continue our team coverage tonight by speaking with a consumer safety expert about products that have lithium ion batteries and what you should look out for. News. Twelve's Dan Caruso has that part of the story. This week's fire at a lithium ion battery storage facility in Warwick and a fire at a barbershop in Spring Valley sparked by an E bike raises the question why do you think we are seeing so many of these lithium ion battery fires, the lack of regulation. Um there is no mandatory standard for them to meet. And so um you have a lot of products that are not built using best safety practices from the Get Go. Gabe Knight works with the safety team at Yonkers based consumer reports. A nonprofit consumer organization that released a report last December about E bike and other similar mobility device fires. So a common misconception is is people tend to think that everything they buy for their home is tested to a mandatory. Um Unfortunately, that's just not the case. Knight tells me companies cite cost as the reason for not following voluntary industry standards and there's such a high influx of products. It's hard to know if everything has been tested. So here's what Knight wants people to keep in mind when buying these E bike type products, avoid using different batteries or refurbished ones. Do your research? Check out the company's reputation and website see if their tech has been third party tested by an accredited lab. Unfortunately, given the current circumstances, consumers really do have to be vigilant and very careful when shopping around. In the meantime, Knight explains, there is a bill currently in Congress that would allow the consumer product Safety Commission to create a standard for products with lithium ion batteries, an idea her organization supports. So it's just important for everyone that this gets addressed on a federal level in West Nyack, Dian Russo News 12.

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Convergent Energy and Power, which provides service to the industrial facility at 28 Church Street, remains on site, working alongside the Warwick Fire Department and Orange County hazmat teams.

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