In case you've not seen it, below is link to video of fireball demonstration aboard USS Silversides.
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In WW2, There were reports of Ball Lightning type fireballs on board U.S. Submarines. It was suspected that these rare events were caused ... all » by the very high inrush currents when the switch was closed from the huge capacity battery banks into the powerful DC electric motors which propelled the submarines.

In his 4 decade search to understand some of the many possible causes of Ball Lightning, Robert K. Golka managed to "Borrow" a submarine for experiments, using the many thousand amp generators used to recharge there huge battery banks. On Board the USS Silversides Submarine, he short circuits the DC generator outputs in attempts to duplicate this inrush current with the hopes of creating the rare fireballs reported only in this series of submarines.

For other experiments not in this movie, he has an available array of 500 batteries, each about 1000 pounds at 2 volts per battery and each battery able to sustain about 16,000 anps of shorted discharge. Contact induction@comcast.net «

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7964299026452369634

Interesting. I have gotten to deal with fireballs (a.k.a. "Arc Flash" several times during my career, both Navy and civilian. There are lots of videos and pictures out there about the kind of damage and burns you can get.

My current employer has us wearing flash suits rated to 45 Cal per square centimeter in the event of an arc....so its a big deal. Of course, I work with 7200 volts...