About
Join Fike and Greenfire Solutions on June 16 from 3-5pm for a two-hour webinar exploring how integrated and whole system strategies can strengthen protection across the BESS lifecycle and ensure first responders understand how to tackle these incidents when they occur.
When
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 · 3:00 p.m. London (GMT +1:00)
Agenda
  • Discuss the new National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) guidance for grid-scale BESS.
  • Examine the importance of detection, suppression and explosion protection all functioning together to achieve risk reduction in BESS.
  • Delve into explosion mitigation, examining explosion venting principles, standards such as EN 14994 and NFPA 68 and the application of CFD modelling for vent sizing and placement.
  • Explore smoke plume analysis and post-incident environmental considerations, including soil and water contamination.
  • Provide operational insight from lessons learned from the March 2025 fire at the Cirencester Hybrid Solar Farm.
Presenters
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Mark Kendall
Mark Kendall, Director Fire Solutions Group UK and Europe, Fike Corporation
With a background in computer science and electronic engineering. Mark has spent his career working in the life safety sector specialising in the design, manufacture and supply of Fire and Explosion safety systems. Mark has been with Fike since 2006 and has held a variety of roles including European Business Development Specialist, Electrical Product Engineering Manager, Commercial Lead of EN Fire Products and General Manager of Fike FST where he managed operations at our electronics manufacturing division. This year he was appointed Director Fire Solutions Group UK and Europe.
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Jan-Bart Seymortier
Director of Sales, Europe, Fike Corporation
Jan-Bart has over 15 years of experience in explosion protection, covering protective system design, product development and certification. He has led global product management and marketing teams at Fike, driving advancements in explosion venting, isolation, suppression, and its practical applications to help optimize safety system performance in complex industrial environments.
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Martin Blunden QFSM MIFireE M.ISRM AIFSM
Managing Director – Greenfire Solutions
Martin Blunden QFSM MIFireE M.ISRM AIFSM – is the former Chief Officer of the largest Fire & Rescue Service in the UK. Martin was recognised by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2021 New Year’s Honours list – being awarded the Queens Fire Service Medal (QFSM) for distinguished service. He also has several awards for Excellence in Service Delivery during secondments to HM Government to deliver work on their behalf. Martin is now the Managing Director of Greenfire Solutions and oversees a team within the company who are located all over the UK, and all bring their own specialities to the table including scientific advice, fire engineering, risk management, environmental and operational information. Martin has experience of working on significant renewable projects in England, Scotland, Wales and both Northern and the Republic of Ireland as well as Europe. Martin also provides expert advice to various law firms and has supported many clients during Planning Inquiries acting as an Expert Witnesses.

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David Etheridge OBE, FIFireE.
CEO and Founder of Greenfire Solutions
Upon retirement from the Fire Service in April 2017, David founded various companies including Greenfire Solutions which specialises in supporting the renewables energy sector. Since its launch, we have enjoyed considerable growth, built upon the foundations of a solid reputation for delivering high quality outcomes. Through Greenfire, David works with multiple energy companies helping to shape projects from inception through to delivery on the ground. These projects involve BESS and energy storage associated with wind, solar, and gas generation. David first joined Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service as a Firefighter in 1985 and undertook a wide variety of operational, specialist and managerial roles before being appointed as the county’s Chief Fire Officer in June 2010 with Strategic Gold Command responsibilities. In September 2016 David became President of the UK Chief Fire Officers Association. David was recognised by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2015 New Year’s Honours – being awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to Fire and Rescue and the Community. He is also the first UK Fire Officer to receive the National German Fire Service Medal in 2017 from the German Federal Government for Supporting International Relations.
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Jonathan Bird
Station Manager Operational Assurance, Exercises, Rope JOL/NOL, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
Jon Bird joined the fire service in 2002, having previously worked as a microbiologist specialising in genetics and bacterial identification. He has experience across on‑call and wholetime response duties, training delivery, Health and Safety, National Guidance implementation, and operational assurance. Jon currently leads on service exercises, rope rescue, and hazardous materials (HazMat) for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service. Outside of the fire service, Jon is an amateur blacksmith and enjoys renovating and riding classic motorcycles, as well as spending time outdoors with his family and two dogs.
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Matthew Gable
Scientific Advisor to the West Midlands Fire Service Region
Matt is a highly experienced incident response and emergency planning specialist. With 22 years experience managing all aspects of emergency management for the Environment Agency he has dealt with major fires, significant pollution incidents, national level drought events and major flood events. Matt also has 15 years experience working for West Midlands Fire and Rescue service as a scientific advisor, providing on scene specialist response advice for a wide range of Haz Mat incidents, including illicit drug labs, counter terrorism responses, industrial accidents, road traffic collisions and more recently, incidents involving battery storage systems. Matt’s experience also extends to managing the safe operation of nationally significant events, contributing Haz Mat and scientific support to the 2012 Olympic games and the 2022 commonwealth games. Working with Greenfire solutions he has contributed to the work to better understand the environmental and air quality impacts of grid scale battery energy storage systems and his presentation at the event will help operators and responders gain an important context regarding the environmental risks of incidents at BESS sites.
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