Classroom sESSION

Synopsis

"Lithium-Ion Batteries - Are you 'Positive' you are ready?

Today's fire service has many unique challenges. Lithium-ion Batteries surely fall into that category. Most portable devices today, have lithium-ion batteries in them. This will only increase as technology advances. Currently, we find them in E-bike, scooters, cellphones, vehicles and many other small rechargeable devices. The majority of the time they are perfectly safe and are a great effective way to power many of the devices we use on a regular basis. They provide zero emissions, so they can easily be stored in our homes in a “Safe” manner. They are rechargeable and provide a lot more power than traditional batteries. 

 The problem is when they do fail. It happens fast and without warning. They produce a lot of smoke and toxic gases that can fill up a room quickly. Mix that with furnishings in our homes that burn more readily because of the number of plastics, and we have a recipe for disaster. This is a new challenge for today’s fire service. 

In this session, we will cover how the batteries are constructed and the different places we might encounter them. What to expect and how to deal with them as a first-due company. What to do when the incident is over and how to prevent them from reigniting after the incident 

Bio

Greg LaRue has over 20 years of experience in the fire service industry. He has been fortunate to be a Firefighter with Halifax regional fire for 18 of those years. In 2008 he took his first hazardous materials technician course and has been a dedicated member of their hazmat team since. Driven by his avid interest in the Hazmat sector, Greg has taken on many roles including Meter Technician, repairing and calibrating meters, as well as being a part of the Hazmat committee in which he led the process for selecting the chemical protective clothing their team would wear during hazmat incidents. He now serves as the Hazmat lead for theHazardous MaterialsProgram where he is responsible for maintaining equipment and researching new training opportunities.

Greg’s enthusiasm has been fortified by consistently educating himself through many courses. He has taken the Intermediate and Advanced CBRNE courses to be able to handle terrorist threats. He is also a Level 1 Instructor.  To stay current with changes in the Hazmat industry, he listens to podcasts and attends conferences. This allows him to develop and implement new training drills to keep hazmat interesting for crews.