Naperville firefighter helps invent new tool to battle electric vehicle fires
KANE COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- A west suburban firefighter is bringing innovation to the table to fight a new kind of fire.
As the popularity of electric vehicles grows, so does the possibility of a hotter, more dangerous fire, presenting a different challenge to first responders everywhere.
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A new tool designed by a Naperville firefighter aims to help with the new threat.
"Electric vehicle fires are kind of changing the game to the fire department and how we should react," said Danny Puknaitis, a Naperville firefighter and co-inventor of the Poseidon nozzle.
New technology is creating a unique problem for first responders.
When this tool became available to us, we knew we needed to act and work with something to help us combat these fires, better be able to protect our citizens and our property.Phil Giannattasio, Naperville Fire Deputy Chief
"They burn hotter. They burn 1000 to 3000 degrees," Puknaitis said. "They burn longer, 45 minutes to roughly an hour and a half."
Four years ago, Puknaitis says he and his partner went to work on a solution, developing a nozzle they call the Poseidon that flows 420 gallons of water a minute. Puknaitis provided a demonstration to ABC7 in Kane County on how the nozzle attacks EV fires from a new angle.
"Before, you would be going in with a fire hose, trying to cool down the compartment fire, but what you're not actually getting is the undercarriage of this car," Puknaitis said. "You throw this nozzle under and it takes seconds to deploy."
Lithium ion batteries used to power EVs can create their own oxygen source when they burn, further fueling the fire and making it harder to extinguish. The batteries are also typically located on the underside of the vehicle, making the source of the fire harder to reach for a standard hose.
"If it's in a parking garage, if it's underneath the interstate, under a bridge, if it's buttoned up, a car accident next to an elementary school, or a T-bone accident with somebody trapped inside, you have to do something. You can't just let it burn," Puknaitis said.
Naperville Fire Deputy Chief Phil Giannattasio said their department has three nozzles at the ready for when, not if, an EV fire happens.
"When this tool became available to us, we knew we needed to act and work with something to help us combat these fires, better be able to protect our citizens and our property," Giannattasio said.
Puknaitis says fire departments around the country are using his technology, and it has even spread internationally to Mexico, Canada, Israel and the United Kingdom.
