Patrick Durham

I provide nationwide technical fireground and industry training focused on EV and lithium-ion battery hazards, plus operational risk assessments.

[Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) @teexagency]

In case you missed it... #TEEXNews
📰: @theeagle

https://t.co/2iMEIm5HXN

[Firehouse Training @FirehouseTrain1]

The Midwest EV Fire Academy: Lithium-Ion Battery Fireground Tactics Event - Get ready. You asked for it… and we’re delivering. 🔥 This October, subject matter experts from across North America are heading to Oklahoma for something BIG — @HazmatandRescue @stachedtraining

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

Looking forward to speaking at the Third Annual First Responder Summit: Electric Vehicle & Stored Energy — May 12–14 in College Station, TX!

The speaker lineup is exceptional, and I believe this will be the most informative summit yet. If you work in emergency response, fire, utilities, or any field touched by energy storage, this event is for you.

📅 May 12–14, 2026
📍 College Station, TX
🔗 https://t.co/p3cpCgEE4V

#FirstResponder #ElectricVehicles #BatterySafety #EnergyStorage #EmergencyManagement #TEEX

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

Only a few weeks until FDIC International 2026! I'm looking forward to spending a week in Indianapolis.

Lock in your spot today – this is one experience you don't want to miss!
https://t.co/SQsSoy8wYn

#FDIC2026

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

@arcticJim59 Aluminum has a low melting point.

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

High-energy lithium-ion battery shipments are moving across the country every day, but they’re almost never clearly identified on the outside of the vehicle.

For first responders, that lack of information can be dangerous.

In this video, I sit down with Chris Pfaff from Hazmat & Rescue to break down the issue and discuss the need for a high energy battery hazmat placard.

It's time for a Class 10 placard designation for lithium-ion batteries.

https://t.co/8Cme1OwGKg

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

One year ago today I was walking through the Palisades wildfire disaster zone with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

It’s hard to describe what it feels like to stand in a place where entire neighborhoods were wiped out. Streets where homes once stood were reduced to foundations, twisted metal, and ash. You could see the scale of it everywhere you looked.

A year later the debris has been cleared, but rebuilding is slow. Very few homes have actually gone back up since my visit. Recovery from a disaster like that doesn’t happen quickly. For a lot of families, the impacts are still very real.

https://t.co/snpnamRTxh

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

I’ll be speaking next week at the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Greater Atlanta Annual Fire Safety Conference & Expo.

🕙 My session: 10:40 AM
🗓 March 11, 2026
📍 Gas South District

I’ll be presenting on the real-world challenges around lithium-ion batteries and battery recycling, including how they’re actually being stored today and what it means for fire safety.

If you’re attending the conference, stop by the session and say hello.

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

A little outside my normal battery content, but this rescue was too incredible not to cover.

On February 28th in Gregg County, Texas, two people were left hanging 920 feet in the air after their hot air balloon became tangled in a radio tower.

For this video I also interviewed the operational commander from the Longview Fire Department and the Tower King II crew that later removed the balloon from the tower.

Watch the full breakdown:
https://t.co/n51BWtGtME

#firefighter #technicalrescue #fireservice #rescue

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

@brianoflondon Definitely a bad idea.

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

Over three years, the UL Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) conducted full-scale burns on electric and gas vehicles to analyze what’s actually in the smoke.

Six Electric Vehicles.
Three internal combustion vehicles.
Metals. Fluoride. PAHs. PFAS.
And laboratory testing to determine whether the particulate matter could cause genetic damage.

This isn’t opinion. It’s peer-reviewed data.

If you respond to vehicle fires, investigate them, tow them, or operate around them — this matters.

Watch here:
https://t.co/GSCP7ClLjh

#FSRI #FireService #EVFires #VehicleFires #LithiumIon #FirefighterSafety #OccupationalExposure #BatterySafety #SCBA

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

This was my original studio.

Basement corner. Black backdrop. Folding table. One light. Concrete walls.

No production crew. No budget. Just an idea and a camera.

A lot has changed since then, but the mission hasn’t. Keep learning. Keep testing. Keep explaining the hazards in a way that actually makes sense.

You don’t need perfect. You need to start.

#ContentCreation #FireService #LithiumIonBatteries #EVFires #Education #KeepBuilding

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

I see a lot of talk about “Fire Class L” and lithium-ion certified extinguishers.

Here’s the reality: there is no globally recognized certification for lithium-ion battery fires. There is a test in the Netherlands — but it doesn’t mean what most people think it means.

In this video, I break down NTA 8133, what it actually tests, and where the limitations are.

Watch here:
https://t.co/NVUqiRl23O

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

I’ll be speaking at FDIC International 2026.

FDIC is where hands-on training, serious education, and real industry connections come together.

Early bird savings end March 6.
Register now: https://t.co/0OoLpmUMFp

#FDIC2026 #FDICInternational #FireService #FireTraining #FireLeadership #FireOfficer #FirstResponders #FireInstructor #TruckCompany #Fireground

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

I’ll be speaking at TEEX this May at the First Responder Summit in College Station, TX.

Lithium-ion battery and EV fires don’t behave like the incidents most of us were trained on. They escalate fast, last longer, and carry risks that aren’t always obvious when crews first arrive.

I’ll be digging into what actually drives that behavior and what fire departments need to understand before they encounter one of these incidents on the street.

May 12–14 | College Station, TX
https://t.co/6RlR7rcOLc

#FireService #Firefighters #EVFires #LithiumIonBatteries #FirstResponderTraining #TEEX #FireOfficer #ResponderSafety

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

Lithium-ion battery fires aren’t just hard to extinguish—they behave differently.

Long burn times, re-ignition, delayed failure, and high exposure risk change how incidents unfold and how responders have to manage the scene.

Treating them like conventional fires is how people get hurt.

https://t.co/kjf1a35yhO

#FireService #BatteryFires #EVFires #FirefighterSafety #HazMat #EmergencyResponse

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

Calling a lithium-ion battery “end-of-life” makes it sound inert.

In reality, many still contain significant energy, internal damage, and unknown history. That combination is exactly what makes them dangerous in storage, recycling, and transport.

https://t.co/pCx7Tx099s

#LithiumIonBatteries #BatteryRecycling #FireSafety #ThermalRunaway #HazMat #RiskAwareness

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

Mixed battery streams are one of the most common precursors to lithium-ion battery fires in recycling and storage facilities.

Different chemistries.
Different states of charge.
Different damage histories.

We mix them anyway—and then act surprised when something fails.

https://t.co/07RASZE0Tt

#LithiumIonBatteries #BatteryRecycling #BatteryFires #FireSafety #ThermalRunaway #IndustrialSafety

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

OSHA just clarified how lithium-ion battery injuries must be recorded in the workplace.

That means incidents are happening — and they’re being tracked.

Your facility likely has more batteries than you realize. If you need help with fire risk assessments, fire prevention documentation, emergency action plans, or lithium-ion battery training, reach out.

I break down what this OSHA guidance means, and why waiting until after an incident is the wrong approach.

Watch here:
https://t.co/45QFiBrCQ3

#LithiumIon #WorkplaceSafety #OSHA #BatterySafety #FirePrevention #EmergencyPlanning

[Patrick Durham @stachedtraining]

“Just discharge the battery” gets suggested a lot.

Discharge doesn’t undo internal damage.
It doesn’t fix separator failure.
And it doesn’t eliminate thermal runaway risk.

It’s a tool—not a solution.

#LithiumIonBatteries #BatterySafety #ThermalRunaway #FireSafety #EVFires #RiskManagement