November 2016 Seminar: An Overview of the Fire Hazards Associated with Lithium Ion Batteries

November 2016 Training Seminar: An Overview of the Fire Hazards Associated with Lithium Ion Batteries

Our seminar will discuss fire hazards related to lithium ion batteries. The program will cover a basic review of batteries and their purpose. Then what a lithium ion battery is how it differs from other types of batteries, and its broad range of applications and use.  Discussion will then cover how these batteries can fail and result in a significant “run away” fire event.  The presentation will cover some of the recent newsworthy stories regarding lithium ion batteries incidents.  Attendees will gain greater knowledge on the possible modes of failure, the range of resulting outcomes, and the unique fire safety challenges these batteries present

Our primary presenter will be Milosh Puchovsky, Professor of Practice at WPI where he teaches and advises research projects on fire hazard analysis, active and passive fire protection systems, occupant egress, and the application of computer fire modeling.  He is currently President and a Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE).  Milosh was previously Assistant Vice President and Standards Council Secretary at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) overseeing the technical development of all NFPA codes and standards.  He serves on a number of NFPA technical committees and is a member of the Underwriter’s Laboratories Fire Council.  A noted author and speaker, Milosh has worked as a consulting engineer, code consultant, and an insurance loss control specialist.  He holds degrees in mechanical and fire protection engineering, and is a registered professional engineer.

Victoria Hutchison is a graduate student at WPI where she is conducting research on the fire hazards associated with lithium ion batteries.  She is also a graduate of the Fire Protection Engineering and Safety Technology program at Oklahoma State University.  Victoria started her research on the fire hazards of lithium ion batteries at Oklahoma State where she was given the opportunity to present at the student research session at the NFPA Conference.  She has received several awards in both scholarship and leadership, and holds multiple certifications pertaining to the fire protection industry.  Victoria has acquired industry experience in design and consulting over the past 5 years working as an intern for Heritage Fire Protection, Inc.  She is also a Graduate Safety Practitioner and a student member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE).

I assure all attendees I have spoke at length with Professor Puchovsky and this presentation will be suitable for us layman. Technical discussion will be presented in a practical manner appropriate for our audience.  This presentation is being put together with the public and private sector fire investigator in mind.

This seminar has passed, thank you for your participation!