October 2025 - Cascade SFPE Monthly Educational Session

CASCADE CHAPTER - SOCIETY OF FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEERS

Topic: Indoor Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) or "What the H$!& are you putting in my building?" 

Speakers - Andrew Blum, P.E. and Karli Steranka - Fire & Risk Alliance

Mr. Andrew Blum, P.E. is a Principal Fire Protection Engineer and Director of Energy Storage Systems at Fire & Risk Alliance, LLC. He has bachelor's and master’s degrees in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland and experience analyzing the fire hazard of lithium-ion batteries utilized in consumer products, electric vehicles, in storage configurations (warehousing), and in battery energy storage systems (BESS). He is a member of NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems and NFPA 800, Battery Safety Code. He also has specific expertise in fire-testing lithium-ion batteries. Many of these projects were performed in coordination with the NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation, and the data collected from those projects have helped shape the NFPA’s guidance for training first responders in fires involving lithium-ion batteries.

Karli Steranka is a Senior Fire Protection Engineer at Fire & Risk Alliance. She holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland and is a registered professional engineer in California. Karli provides technical support in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, engineering analyses, and fire and life safety code consulting, with expertise in battery energy storage system (BESS) hazards, hazardous materials, and other industrial risks. She also has applied research experience from her graduate studies, where she used the CFD model Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) to analyze liquid pool fires and evaluate the feasibility of water mist systems as an alternative to foam-based fire suppression systems in aircraft hangars.