Inaudible sound might be the next frontier in wildfire defense

The article discusses Sonic Fire Tech, a startup developing an innovative wildfire defense system that uses infrasound—sound waves below the range of human hearing—to suppress fires. Building on earlier concepts explored by DARPA and others, the company has engineered a system that employs a large reciprocating piston to generate low-frequency sound waves around 20 Hz. These sound waves disrupt combustion and can extinguish flames from distances up to 25 feet, with potential scalability to 330 feet. Unlike traditional audible-frequency approaches, which can damage hearing, Sonic Fire Tech’s infrasound method is safe and can transmit further, making it suitable for residential wildfire protection. Sonic Fire Tech’s system is designed to be installed on homes, routing infrasound through ducts placed on the roof ridge and under eaves to target fires starting in gutters or near walls. It activates automatically when sensors detect flames and requires about 500 watts of power, with plans for battery backup in case of outages. The system does not rely on water