Stonington- When Pawcatuck firefighters responded to the battery fire at Yardney Technical Products that forced a large neighborhood evacuation Tuesday, they didn't know exactly what chemical reactions they were dealing with.

That's because, while the Mechanic Street company has to provide a list of the chemicals it stores on the property and where they are located, it does not tell the fire department what type of testing it is doing and in what combinations the chemicals are being used.

Those combinations can change how firefighters attack a fire and what precautions they take to protect the neighborhood and themselves.

Fire Marshal Kevin Burns said Wednesday he would like to have this type of information so his department could better prepare for possible future incidents at the plant.

Burns said he would also like to see Yardney send him electronic updates about its chemicals instead of submitting the required form by mail. That way, he said, firefighters would have the most up to date information available and be able to immediately input it into the computers in its trucks.First Selectman Ed Haberek, who toured the plant last month with company president and CEO Vincent Yevoli Jr., said he too would like to know more about what work is being done in the plant “so the firefighters know what they are dealing with when they get on the scene.”

Yevoli said Wednesday that providing the information to firefighters is something his company can do. He said his company had discussions with the fire department about doing it in the past.

He said he could not discuss the use for the battery that caught fire Tuesday but said it was something to do with the government. He said the battery had been in testing for a year without any previous problems.

”We can't put a finger on what happened yet,” he said.

Yardney develops advanced battery technologies for the military, NASA and other groups for use in mini-submarines, aircraft, satellites, the Mars lander and rovers and other applications.

Yevoli said the plant was open Wednesday and the cleanup was continuing.

”We certainly appreciate all the support we got yesterday from the fire department, the police and the town,” he said.

There have been battery fires and spills at the plant in the past, but none that required a large evacuation like the one that took place Tuesday.

Haberek said Yevoli assured him during his visit last month “that safety is the company's primary concern.”

Yevoli said that when his firm is doing a test that might cause a problem, it moves it to an off-site location. The test that occurred Tuesday had been done many times before without any problems.

”We take all the precautions we can. This was an unexpected event,” he said. “We want to be a good neighbor.”

Haberek said that during Tuesday's fire, company officials, including the manager of the battery project, were all on the scene assisting firefighters. He said he told Yevoli Tuesday night that it would be good if they talked more about what work was taking place in the plant.

Haberek said he will be meeting this week with town, school, police, fire and ambulance officials to assess the response to the fire and see what improvements need to be made.

The town activated its reverse-911 system to alert residents in the 4-square-mile area that was evacuated. School officials used their system to twice call parents with information about picking up the 600 students who had been evacuated from West Broad Street School and Pawcatuck Middle School to the high school.

Superintendent of Schools Michael McKee said he met with staff on Wednesday to discuss how the system could improve its response, which many parents praised on Tuesday. He said future messages would have a time on them and people would be able to replay them. In addition, e-mails would be sent.

The incident began early Tuesday afternoon when a 8-foot-by-6-foot lithium-ion battery being tested caught fire. Smoke poured from a vent in the roof of the Mechanic Street plant and a strong chemical smell filled the neighborhood.

A state Department of Environmental Protection official said the smoke was not caused by the burning of chemicals but the rubber and cellulose housing of the battery. They were also concerned about the release of hydrofluoric acid which can cause respiratory and skin irritation as well as attack bones and teeth.

The battery was enclosed in a 10-foot-by-12-foot chamber inside the plant where a sprinkler system put out the fire. The fire blew out one wall of the chamber.

Although residents were allowed back to their homes 3 1/2 hours later, firefighters, DEP and company officials were at the scene until midnight trying to find a way to cool down the cells that make up the battery. At the time, Haberek said a second evacuation was a possibility.

Hazardous materials teams and firefighters put nitrogen and water on the battery but it remained hot. They discussed ways to cool it down including putting it outside the plant in a salt water bath. But the decision was made to turn the sprinkler on again and that cooled it down.

The state fire marshal's office and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be investigating the incident.

J.WOJTAS@THEDAY.COM