On their website, EnergyStorage.org, American Clean Power addresses this claim:
Regulations that aren’t vetted by organizations like the National Fire Protection Association or are inconsistent with the International Fire Code may make projects less safe.
Established national and international codes and standards already require BESS to incorporate the appropriate safety features to contain any potential fires or thermal events.
Successful suppression of a fire does not guarantee that the underlying thermal runaway event has been terminated, so containing a fire is the best way to protect first responders and communities.
The energy storage industry is working to avoid events such as the explosion at an installation in McMicken, Arizona, in which four firefighters were injured. (https://www.nfpa.org/news-blogs-and-articles/blogs/2020/07/31/arizona-ess-explosion-investigation-and-line-of-duty-injury-reports-now-available) Prior to this event, the industry was focused on extinguishing fires as quickly possible, but McMicken showed that explosion can be a greater hazard and fire containment is a better strategy.
The accepted best practice for the rare ESS fires that do occur is to contain them, managing the burn of the limited affected unit in a controlled manner while protecting nearby structures and equipment. This strategy eliminates any explosion hazard, avoids issues with stranded energy and reignition, and minimizes contaminated runoff of firefighting water.
Codes and standards are changing to reflect this practice, placing an emphasis on explosion prevention. One proposal for the 2026 edition of NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, would forbid installation of traditional clean-agent or aerosol fire suppression systems unless testing demonstrates that use of such systems does not create an explosion risk.