Turtle Fire nozzles used in real-world electric vehicle emergencies

Over the last few months, Turtle Fire nozzles have been deployed in several real-world electric vehicle fires and incidents across the U.S. Although each situation presented different challenges, all were successfully mitigated by departments that had prepared in advance by investing in the appropriate tools and training their crews before encountering these emergencies in the field.

Real-World EV Fire Responses Across the U.S.

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson Fire Special Operations Coordinator, Captain James Sieminski spoke with 13 News of KOLD-TV, the local Arizona CBS affiliate, in a segment released on August 29, 2025, about the department’s approach to electric vehicle fires which includes a Turtle Fire nozzle. In July, Tucson Fire Department responded to a dealership with a car engulfed in flames.

“Once they recognized it was an EV fire, we had the Battalion Chief bring out the necessary equipment,” Sieminski said. “You see the water coming out [of the Turtle nozzle] underneath [the electric vehicle] and you saw how quickly the fire went out.”

In a follow-up video published during Fire Prevention Month on Tucson Fire Department’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, Battalion Chief Eric Jakoby reinforced the steps the department is taking to mitigate electric vehicle emergencies, which includes the use of a fire blanket and Turtle nozzle.

According to BC Jakoby, “Lithium-ion batteries on electric vehicles are extremely hard to access. So, what we need to do is we need to apply the water directly underneath the vehicle and up into the battery. The reason is these batteries burn at a really high temperature, a lot hotter than a normal vehicle fire, and we need to apply a lot of water. This nozzle provides 500 gallons a minute which allows us to directly cool the battery.”

Jakoby highlighted the department’s real-world experience using the Turtle nozzle. “We had a fire earlier this year and we got to use this equipment for the first time. We got to see that after the fire engine had been there for over 45 minutes trying to put out the car fire, the fire went out in about two minutes using this new equipment.”

Franklin, Tennessee

On September 25, 2025, the City of Franklin released a video detailing the Franklin Fire Department’s response plan for fighting electric vehicle fires. According to Franklin Firefighter and HazMat Tech Christian Tidmore, this plan includes deployment of the Turtle Fire Systems.

“It’s an unmanned firefighting device that we can slide underneath the cars, that way we don’t have to put firefighters’ lives in jeopardy,” Tidmore said. “It’s able to go underneath the car to cool the battery in thermal runaway.”

Five weeks later, Franklin Fire Department was able to apply that preparation and training during a live incident involving several electric vehicles and part of a Rivian dealership.  According to the official press release from the City of Franklin, “Firefighters were dispatched at 1:19 a.m. to the business at 305 5th Avenue North. They arrived to find four electric vehicles on fire outside the building, with flames extending into a service bay.”

The release stated that “crews quickly contained the fire, limiting interior damage. Firefighters remained on scene for more than four hours to monitor and cool the vehicles’ battery packs, which can reignite or continue burning for an extended period. They used a Turtle nozzle, designed to help firefighters control and extinguish electric vehicle fires.”

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

An electric vehicle was off-gassing at a gas station on December 30, 2025 in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis. According to a post on Brooklyn Center Fire Department’s official Facebook page, “When fire arrived, they observed lots of smoke coming from the battery area of the car.”

“We deployed two specialized pieces of equipment to help extinguish the battery fire,” the post continued.  “We used the ‘Turtle,’ which is a pipe and water discharge device that hooks up to our fire hose and sprays water [to] the underside of the car to cool the battery. Once that was in place, we used a big fire blanket to cover the car and to control the vapors and smoke.”

The department also noted the differences between traditional vehicle fires and electric vehicle battery fires. “Typical car fires are extinguished in about 10 minutes and use approximately 500 gallons of water. Electric vehicle battery fires take more time and significantly more water to cool the batteries down.”

According to the department, crews on scene never witnessed visible flames as a result of the indirect cooling provided by the Turtle nozzle. Video from the incident accompanied a CBS News interview with Fire Chief Todd Berg.

As incidents involving EVs become more common, these experiences demonstrate that the fire service must act proactively—anticipating hazards, refining tactics, and preparing with the right tools and training.