It seems like something out of a movie, but it's real: how technology uses invisible sound waves to extinguish small fires without water, without chemicals, and without destroying household furniture.

It seems like something out of a movie, but it’s real: how technology uses invisible sound waves to extinguish small fires without water, without chemicals, and without destroying household furniture.

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 17/05/2026 at 20:48

2 people reacted to this.

Sonic Fire Tech technology uses low-frequency sound waves to drive oxygen away from flames, extinguish small fires without water or chemicals, and prevent damage caused by sprinklers in domestic environments.

Technology that fights fires with sound waves, without water or chemicals, has been patented by Sonic Fire Tech as an alternative to extinguish small-scale flames. The solution uses infrasound to interfere with combustion, driving oxygen molecules away from the fuel.

The proposal was created by Geoff Bruder, an aerospace engineer who researched thermal energy conversion at NASA and co-founded the company.

The initiative addresses the limitations of traditional firefighting, as water can be scarce or cause damage, and chemicals affect health and the environment.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

How fires are extinguished by sound

Fire depends on heat, fuel, and oxygen. The technology emits low-frequency sound waves to prevent the fire from receiving enough oxygen and maintaining the chemical reaction.

Bruder stated that the method vibrates the oxygen faster than the fuel can use it, blocking the reaction. The company does not claim to be the pioneer in using sound against fires.

Infrasound solves an old challenge

The acoustic influence on flames was already known in combustion. DARPA studied the subject in the early 2000s, and academic researchers had been conducting experiments for decades.

Albert Simeoni, from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, told Scientific American that the challenge was to scale up the technology without sound effects. Sonic Fire Tech used infrasound, with waves of 20 Hz or less, inaudible and capable of traveling far.

Testing and residential use

Firefighters in San Bernardino tested a wearable device developed by the company. Sonic Fire Tech also offers integrated home solutions, triggered by sensors, to extinguish flames without wetting floors or damaging furniture.

Remington Hotchkis told CBS News that sprinklers are ineffective in grease fires and can spread the fire. The company says its system suppressed flames with autonomous detection, but the acoustics still only work on a small scale.

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It seems like something out of a movie, but it’s real: how technology uses invisible sound waves to extinguish small fires without water, without chemicals, and without destroying household furniture.

Sonic Fire Tech technology uses low-frequency sound waves to drive oxygen away from flames, extinguish small fires without water or chemicals, and prevent damage caused by sprinklers in domestic environments.

How fires are extinguished by sound

Infrasound solves an old challenge

Testing and residential use

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It seems like something out of a movie, but it’s real: how technology uses invisible sound waves to extinguish small fires without water, without chemicals, and without destroying household furniture.

Sonic Fire Tech technology uses low-frequency sound waves to drive oxygen away from flames, extinguish small fires without water or chemicals, and prevent damage caused by sprinklers in domestic environments.

How fires are extinguished by sound

Infrasound solves an old challenge

Testing and residential use

The end of Nokia: the brand that was the cellphone of an entire generation has ended its smartphones, left Brazil, and today survives only in basic phones in India while seeking a new partner.

Dissatisfied with seeing people sleeping on the street, a man named Ryan Donais started building small mobile homes so that homeless people can escape the cold, each equipped with a bed, running water, electricity, and heating.

Cambodia has started digging a nearly 180-kilometer canal to connect the Mekong River directly to the sea and reduce its dependence on the ports of neighboring Vietnam.

Workers were opening a modern road in Dover when they found, 6 meters below the asphalt, a 3,500-year-old boat made of stitched oak and plant fibers.

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