Pye-Barker Issues Lithium-Ion Battery Safety Guidance for Commercial Facilities During Fire Prevention Week

Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Marks Fire Prevention Week with Lithium-Ion Battery Guidance for Commercial Facilities

ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In observance of Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 4-10), Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, the largest fully integrated and full-service fire protection, life safety and security services provider in the United States, is sharing lithium-ion battery safety guidance for commercial facility managers. This year’s National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) theme, “Charge into Fire Safety: Safe Charging Is a Superpower,” marks the second year the campaign has focused on lithium-ion batteries.

NFPA’s campaign centers on everyday charging habits. Pye-Barker is extending that message to the workplace, where lithium-ion batteries power backup systems for servers and network equipment, forklifts, cordless tools, and the e-bikes and scooters employees and tenants bring inside.

Joseph Hightower, chief operations officer of Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, said:

Our technicians are finding UPS systems, charging carts and personal e-bikes in rooms that were never designed for them,

“Detection and suppression have to match what is in the space today.”

Pye-Barker recommends five steps:

1. Inventory and check code. Walk your building and write down every place a battery is stored, charged or installed, then check that list against what your fire protection plan actually covers.
2. Buy listed, charge as intended. Choose equipment certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory and use only the manufacturer’s charger or an approved equivalent.
3. Dedicate a supervised charging space. Use noncombustible surfaces away from exits and stairwells; plug into receptacles rather than extension cords or power strips. Prohibit overnight charging.
4. Match detection and suppression to the hazard. Failing cells vent flammable gas before smoke or flame. Battery rooms need early-warning detection tied to a monitored alarm, ventilation and a suppression approach evaluated for the installation.
5. Train for warning signs. Heat, swelling, hissing, odor or smoke means stop using the battery. Pye-Barker’s local teams can walk a facility with its building manager and recommend detection, suppression and inspection steps for the site. To reach your local branch, visit pyebarkerfs.com/locations.

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Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Marks Fire Prevention Week with Lithium-Ion Battery Guidance for Commercial Facilities, source