Mike McElhone has lived in Sale Creek for about 11 years, and he’s worried how his family would get out of his neighborhood if a battery storage system that EPB intends to construct near his home catches fire.
“I also have a disabled brother that I take care of,” McElhone said in a phone call. “My father who is 81 lives back here. There’s a lot of elderly people back here.”
EPB’s plans for the facility have sparked some concerns among neighbors. McElhone said Daugherty Ferry Road is the only access point for the neighborhood, and he questions how people would evacuate the area if multiple fire trucks had to respond to an emergency at the property.
“If they’re intent on putting it, they need to do a better job at researching where would be good spots and looking at all the possibilities, especially with an easy one like this,” he said. “That whole neighborhood is trapped if there’s a fire here.”