Greensburg native taking fighting wildfires to new heights
GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) -- A former firefighter from Greensburg wants to change how wildfires are stopped before they ravage communities.
Larry Sukay, CEO and founder of Western States Fire, said methods for fighting fires burning out of control haven't changed much in the last 80 years.
"We throw these buckets of water or we throw buckets of retardant. And the only thing that has changed in 80 years is the buckets have gotten larger," he said.
Sukay said he has a better solution that uses a technology developed in Greensburg and takes it to new heights. It's called SKHI-EX, an aerial high-expansion foam firefighting system.
"The technology that we're using for our system was developed in Greensburg by the Safety Development Corporation. Will Jamison, his family owned the Jamison Coal Company. So, developed this technology originally to fight coal mine fires. In the development stage, he then started working with Chief Ed Hutchinson, who had an industrial sheet metal shop. And Chief Hutchison then fabricated the first high-expansion foam generator that was sold to the Greensburg Fire Department," Sukay said.
Greensburg is where Sukay was born and raised and where he became a second-generation firefighter and deputy chief. He spent 15 years with the Greensburg Fire Department before taking his skills to San Diego in 1985.
After seeing fire after fire, he wondered if that foam technology could fly by attaching the system to a helicopter.
"If this technology could be in the air without any limitations of roads or anything else, it would be a tremendous tool for the fire service in their toolbox. What we are doing is we're putting a firetruck in the sky with a hose line that comes down and puts foam directly onto the fire. So, it's game-changing," Sukay said.
He said SKHI-EX is nine times more efficient and quicker than today's wildfire fighting methods.
"The drop that takes place now with water, it lasts about three to eight seconds. They'll put in maybe 600 feet of containment line. We're dropping 50,000 cubic feet per minute. We do between 8,300 feet and 33,000 feet in one pass," Sukay said.
He said the foam is safe for the environment, free of toxic forever chemicals called PFAs, and meets FDA and EPA Generally Recognized as Safe lists.
"We set out to develop our own plant-based biodegradable safe foam. It's safe for humans, animals, aquatic life. Once it hits the ground, it lasts for anywhere between half an hour up to 24 hours," he said.
California's three biggest wildfires this month have scorched more than 100,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 structures.
Sukay said wildfires are burning longer, hotter and more frequently. He's seen the destruction and heartbreak these natural disasters can cause. That's what is driving him to provide this one-of-a-kind system.
He can't wait until it takes off by next May and helps protect people from devastation.
"This is a global issue with climate change. This is a worldwide problem. We have a worldwide solution," Sukay said.
"This will be the first time that we will ever have sustained fire suppression from the sky," he added.
His company, Western States Fire, has done a test with a one-sixteenth-scale unit, and now the company is building the full-scale prototype.
Western States Fire is raising $2.5 million in a seed round, then it will have a $15 million series round from institutional investors.
