our team

founding principals

+ Nick Warner

Nick’s career has focused on batteries, starting with performance and degradation testing of EV batteries at the Center for Automotive Research at Ohio State University before focusing primarily on safety topics. He has dedicated himself to energy storage integration, deployment, and fire safety. Nick supplemented those disciplines with failure analysis and fire investigation, battery performance, degradation, controls and safety testing, the evaluation of materials and sensors for passive and active safety applications, and codes and standards work. He has applied these skills, mastered by an abundance of first-hand, on-the-ground experience, to the validation of state-of-the-art technologies for deployment in grid storage applications.

In addition to the roles he serves at ESRG, Nick is heavily involved in standards activities, including six UL standards related to ESS, as well as NFPA and ICC codes for fire safety and ESS deployment and the use of energy storage in other applications, be they motive or stationary.

Prior to co-founding ESRG, Nick served as a senior engineer at risk management and QA company, DNV GL, leading the development of the industry’s first third-party controls and battery management system (BMS) validation testing service, in addition to streamlining DNV GL’s explosion modeling efforts for permitting of ESS and helping support all DNV GL efforts related to ESS safety.

Nick holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors and Research Distinction, a minor in Nuclear Engineering, and Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University.

+ Paul Rogers

A retired FDNY Lieutenant after more than 25 years, Lt. Rogers served as a Hazardous Material (HazMat) Specialist before co-founding ESRG, supervising the FDNY’s premier HazMat team. He also served as a HazMat manager for the FEMA NY Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team, responding to emergencies around the country. During high profile events, Lt. Rogers was assigned as a liaison on joint teams with the FBI, Secret Service, US Military, NYPD, and other local, state, and federal agencies.

In the final years of his tenure with the fire service, Lt. Rogers was assigned to the Bureau Fire Prevention to lead a project on Energy Storage Systems (ESS). Through this effort, he collaborated with the NFPA, UL, Con Edison, FM Global, DOE, EPA, DOT, and many other regulatory entities, earning the title of Subject Matter Expert (SME) in ESS. The FDNY utilized Lt. Rogers’ SME skillset, assigning him to train the department’s Incident Commanders and command staff, including FDNY Commissioner Nigro. Lt. Rogers’ performance as the FDNY SME earned him an esteemed reputation and wide recognition amongst the upper ranks of the FDNY and NYC Buildings Department.

Upon his retirement, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) encouraged Lt. Rogers to continue work as a consultant, helping guide local code officials in New York State on the safe installations of ESS. Renowned in this area of specialized expertise, Lt. Rogers currently sits on the NFPA 855 (Energy Storage Systems Installations) standard and is a member of the International Fire Code Action Committee for ESS installations.

+ Tom Bensen

In addition to his role at ESRG, Tom has served as a full-time fire investigator since 2000, working both public and private fire investigations, and has even testified on numerous occasions as an expert witness on the origin and cause of fires and explosions. His distinguished career spans experience serving as a firefighter, in law enforcement, and working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

Tom has conducted numerous large-scale fire tests on lithium batteries. He is a current committee member of NFPA 855 and has presented numerous times regarding the investigation of energy storage systems and firefighter response to energy storage systems. An esteemed expert in the fire safety industry, Tom holds a number of certifications, including:

  • Certified Fire Investigator (IAAI)
  • Certified Fire Investigator Instructor (IAAI-CI)
  • Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (NAFI)
  • Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (NAFI)
  • Certified Fire Instructor
  • Certified Fire Fighter II
  • Certified Peace Officer
  • Instructor, Department of Homeland Security

Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Protection Safety Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University and has trained at the Georgia Fire Academy and the Ohio Basic Peace Officer Training Academy.

 

senior consultants

+ Ed Ferrier

Chief Ferrier is recently retired from of the New York City Fire Department after 35 years of distinguished service. Prior to beginning his work as a consultant at ESRG, he spent almost 31 years working in the Bureau of Operations performing active fire suppression. After being subsequently appointed to the rank of Deputy Assistant Chief by the Fire Commissioner, he became a member of the Executive Staff, assigned to the Bureau of Fire Prevention (BFP). There, he leveraged his years of suppression experience to increase firefighter and public safety, leading the following BFP Units:

  • Hazardous Control
  • Fire Suppression
  • Range Hood
  • Explosives
  • Code Development
  • Tech Management

Chief Ferrier served as an active participant in the NYC/ICC 2008 and 2014 Building Code adoption processes, the first pass beginning in 2003 and the second in 2011. He served on two different Committees: the Fire Protection Committee (2008) and the Use/Occupancy/Egress Committee (2014). Additionally, he served as the chair of the General Fire Safety Committee for FDNY’s review of the 2015 IFC.

Throughout his career, Chief Ferrier has leveraged his extensive firefighting knowledge and pertinent hands-on fire safety experience toward the ultimate mission of Fire Prevention. This specialized expertise proved particularly important when dealing with technical and code-related issues and their impact on New York City.

Chief Ferrier’s reputation for being fair-minded while determining optimal solutions for a great and varied multitude of Fire Prevention projects enabled him to cultivate successful working relationships with a myriad of stakeholders – including business, industry, NYC and NYS agencies, as well as the general public – to minimize risk and enhance life safety and property protection, all while simultaneously moving projects forward.

Prior to his retirement, Chief Ferrier also served as an adjunct professor at CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from St. Francis College and a Master of Science in Fire Protection Management from CUNY John Jay College.

+ Gerard Fontana

Prior to joining ESRG, Chief Fontana served as a member of the Boston Fire Department (BFD) for 35 years, from 1984 until 2020, achieving every rank up to the position of Chief of Operations. During his tenure, he was responsible for leading the planning team for the 2004 Democratic National Convention and all special events, including the Boston Marathon, the Boston July Fourth concert, and all events related to the Boston major league sports teams. He also coordinated the development of the response system to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation tunnel and roadway system, as well as the LNG facility located within the city.

Notably during his service at the BFD, Chief Fontana created the special operations division that consolidated all hazmat, technical rescue, and marine operations, enabling these units to determine their training and equipment needs and to plan independently with the regional UASI partners in the metro Boston area. During this time, he helped coordinate regional multi-disciplined exercises, including two versions of Urban Shield, which included the testing of technical rescue and hazmat resources in coordination with Swat and EOD operations. Chief Fontana was instrumental in securing funding for the first Energy Storage System training site within the metro Boston area, a facility that will be used to train firefighters and other stakeholders in safely responding to incidents involving photovoltaic equipment and lithium-ion battery energy storage systems.

Additionally, Chief Fontana served as the Chair of the Interagency Board of Emergency Preparedness and Response, a national multidisciplinary organization representing 152 federal, state, and local first responders from 35 states and functioning as a unified voice of the first responder community. The Board’s main concerns are first responder and community safety, equipment operations and standardization, and best practices.

Chief Fontana is certified at all levels of incident command systems (ICS) and is certified by the Center of Domestic Preparedness to teach all ICS curricula. He has attended multiple courses at the Harvard University Kennedy School, including Leadership in Homeland Security, Leadership in Crisis, and the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. He has attended the Naval Postgraduate School Homeland Security Executive Leaders Program and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officers Program. He received the Gerard J. Molito Award for Professional Excellence for developing operation plans for responding to terrorist or major hazardous materials incidents for the Boston Fire Department and the Metro Boston region.

+ Casey Grant, P.E., FSFPE

Casey’s career is focused on the design and implementation of research for the fire protection and emergency response communities.

Prior to his work at ESRG, Casey spent more than a dozen years managing numerous research projects with the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF), the non-profit research affiliate for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), where he served as the FPRF Executive Director during the last 5 years of his tenure. Prior to joining the FPRF in 2007, Casey served as the Secretary of the NFPA Standards Council and Assistant Chief Engineer, among other roles at NFPA, since 1988.

Casey is a Registered Professional Engineer in Fire Protection Engineering in the States of California and Tennessee. He is a member of both the Beta and Gamma Chapters of the Salamander Fire Protection Honorary Society. Casey is a Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, a Fellow of the Institute of Fire Engineers, and has one fire protection related U.S. patent.

Casey holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and a Master of Science degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, both in Fire Protection Engineering.

+ George Hough

A retired FDNY Lieutenant, Lt. Hough possesses more than 25 years of field experience, including 15 years as an officer in the department’s principal hazardous materials response unit, Hazmat Co. 1.

He has served as an instructor at the NYC Fire Academy, providing Hazmat Technician Training to members of its Special Operations Command, and as a Hazmat Team manager for the FEMA NY Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team, deploying with the team to areas throughout the U.S. affected by severe weather events. Lt. Hough has also worked and trained with agencies, including the FBI, Secret Service, and National Guard CST units, for special events and incident responses within NYC.

Lt. Hough participates on committees for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology directorate and the Interagency Advisory Board (IAB), which focus on identifying preparedness gaps and evaluating new first responder technologies. He assisted in developing standardized testing procedures for the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Robotics Group and served on the NFPA 2400 committee, helping to create the first draft Standard for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Used for Public Safety Operations.

Lt. Hough holds a Master of Arts degree in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University. Through his master’s research on robot communication issues, he conducted testing with the National Institute of Standards (NIST) and co-authored conference papers from the data collected. He has had extensive training in firefighting, hazmat, and technical rescue disciplines.

+ Nick Petrakis, P.E.

Nicholas Petrakis joined the ESRG team in January of 2022. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York and graduate of Stony Brook University with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering.

Prior to joining ESRG, Mr. Petrakis held a position within the New York City Fire Department’s (FDNY) Bureau of Fire Prevention as an Assistant Deputy Director of the Sustainability Unit. He led a team of engineers tasked with the review of new and emerging technologies, including but not limited to High-Pressure Natural Gas Co-generation Plants, Mass Timber Construction, Combustible Cladding (EIFS), Fire Modeling of Cantilevered Buildings, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (ESS). He has been an active and voting member on multiple codes and standards committees including the NYC Construction Codes, NYC Fire Codes, NFPA 855, UL 1973, UL 1741, UL 9540 and UL 9540A. He was one of the subject matter experts that developed and implemented the FDNY Rule to govern the safe installation of Battery ESS throughout NYC.

Nick looks forwarding to expanding his knowledge base and foster the growth of ESRG into the Gold Standard of safety services for all new and emerging technologies.

Consultants

+ Aaron Miller, C.F.E.I.

Aaron Miller officially joined the ESRG team in January 2022 after 2 years of interning during college. He attended Ohio University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. He has been involved with burn testing of batteries throughout his time as an intern and has been involved in forensic fire investigation for the last 4 years as an intern for Bensen Fire and Safety

He hopes to bring his knowledge of engineering and fire investigation to ESRG to help further understanding of battery failures and how to mitigate them as well as increase his own experience in the field.

+ Troy Morris

Prior to joining the ESRG team in March of 2022, Chief Morris has dedicated the last 34 years to providing service to his community near Delaware, Ohio. Driven by his passion for service, he has always focused on integrity, interdepartmental cooperation, and joint operations. Early in his career he served as a police officer for the City of Delaware where he established the K-9 unit while also serving as a volunteer firefighter. It was undoubtedly during this phase of his career where he developed his strong attention to detail and investigatory prowess. After separating from the police department to fulfill a family commitment, he was hired as a Captain for the Tri Township Fire District where he was promoted to the position of Chief in 2000.

During his tenure, Chief Morris has proven his commitment to cooperation by serving on the Delaware County Emergency Management board of directors; the Delaware County Fire Chief’s Association where he served the role of president; the Delaware County 9-1-1 Board where he has served as the secretary, vice chairman, and chairman; the chair of the Delaware County Local Emergency Planning Commission; as well as belonging to the Ohio Fire Chief’s Association. He has been a certified Fire Fighter II for over 23 years and has received certifications in numerous areas including fire investigations, fire instruction, and fire inspection.

Chief Morris looks forward to establishing and heading the emergency response team and bolstering the cooperation between local agencies and ESRG.

senior project engineer

+ Michael Bowes

Michael’s career has been concentrated in the advancement of the New York City energy storage landscape, with a strong focus on battery safety and permitting. During his time at Sustainable CUNY of the City University of New York, he worked closely with the NYC Fire Department (FDNY), Department of Buildings (DOB), and Mayor’s Office of Sustainability (MOS) to streamline the permitting of energy storage systems in the Five Boroughs. Additionally, he provided technical assistance to a wide range of industry stakeholders, including project developers, battery manufacturers and integrators, and utilities looking to develop in NYC.

While working at the New York Power Authority, Michael leveraged his data analytics background developing detailed demand charge reduction and electric rate models for standalone storage systems in NYC.

Michael serves on the EPRI Battery Energy Storage Fire Prevention and Mitigation (FPaM) advisory committee and regularly speaks on considerations for the safe deployment of energy storage systems at industry events.

He also leads the Data Tracking committee at the GreenHomeNYC volunteer organization, working to promote an energy-efficient and sustainable built environment in NYC.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Clarkson University and a Data Analytics certification from Columbia University.

 

Director of Operations

+ Michelle Hoffman

Over Michelle’s career she has been driven by building professional relationships with clients to meet their needs and to assist them in pre-emergency planning to minimize initial and secondary damages. Michelle has done this in the fields of insurance, public safety and incident mitigation and restoration, when client relationship and direction is of the essence. Michelle will be working as a liaison between the ESRG Team and our clients to ensure smooth and efficient projects.

In her career, Michelle has obtained a degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Marion Technical College. Michelle also holds several certifications, including:

  • Water Restoration Technician (WRT) - Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC)
  • Emergency Planning – Federal Emergency Management Association
  • Effective Communication During Emergency Situations - Federal Emergency Management Association
  • Flood Mitigation and Restoration - Federal Emergency Management Association
  • Active Aggressor - Federal Emergency Management Association
  • Leadership and Influence - Federal Emergency Management Association Michelle is also a member of International Real Estate Management (IREM), International Facilities Management Association (IFMA), and the Community Association Institute (CAI.)