Infrasound waves stop kitchen fires, but can they replace sprinklers?

A startup called Sonic Fire Tech has developed an infrasound-based fire suppression system that disrupts oxygen flow to flames by vibrating oxygen at rates fire cannot consume, without using water or chemicals. While the technology shows promise for kitchen fires where traditional sprinkler systems are ineffective, experts note that acoustic methods work most effectively on small flames, and questions remain about scalability compared to conventional sprinkler systems. The company is currently deploying demonstration systems with California utilities and expects roughly 50 pilot installations by early 2026.

Source: Ars Technica | 2026-05-02