Eight firefighters and a police officer were injured at a solar energy storage facility in the aptly named town of Surprise, Arizona last month when they answered a call to inspect an energy storage system (ESS) fire. The situation quickly took a turn for the worse when an explosion blew the container’s doors off. The first responders, two of whom were severely injured, suffered fractures, thermal and chemical burns, and other injuries. While the environmental and economical attributes of these new technologies are clear; the immediate need for first responder training on these new technologies has been less so. As evidenced in Arizona, ESS incidents can pose potential harm to first responders who may encounter HAZMAT issues, thermal runaway concerns, battery explosion and re-ignition, and off-gassing.