This course will focus on batteries, their operational principles, failure mechanisms, and basic investigative protocols associated with battery fires. This course will specifically discuss lithium-ion, lithium-polymer, and lithium-metal batteries, their applications, and how and why these batteries fail. After this course, the fire investigator will have a greater understanding of the fundamental concepts associated with batteries and how to best investigate battery-related fires. This course will also discuss safety issues and regulatory guidance, including evolving hazards related to these types of fires and investigative methodologies and include a case study discussing battery failures and pre-cursors.
Instructor Bio:
Brittany Brown is the Chief of Fire Prevention at the Leawood Fire Department. Brown has previously served as a Division Chief for the South Adams County Fire Department and has worked as a Deputy State Fire Marshal for both New Mexico and Texas, and served as a fire marshal and firefighter in New Mexico, Texas, and Kentucky. Brown has worked as a Professor at Eastern Kentucky University and currently teaches for the National Fire Academy, The Southern California Safety Institute, and previously taught for the New Mexico Firefighters Training Academy. Brown is currently pursuing a PhD in Forensics from Oklahoma State University and holds a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Brown also serves as a SME/committee member for NFPA, ICC, NICET, OSAC, and IFSTA.