Sound-powered fire protection startup gets $15M to snuff out fires before they turn catastrophic

For over a century, fire protection has been limited to water and chemicals. And while they can prevent catastrophic fires, the cleanup bills can be significant.

But maybe not for long. Sonic Fire Tech is testing a sound-powered fire protection system, which it says snuffs out fires within seconds while also sparing properties from messy water and chemical damage. The company announced Monday that it has raised a $15 million round led by the O.H.I.O. Fund with participation from Khosla Ventures. The startup previously raised a $3.5 million seed in October.

The fresh funding will help the Ohio-based startup hire more employees and run the battery of tests needed to earn approval from the National Fire Protection Association, which writes model codes adopted by fire departments around the country.

Approval typically takes about three years, but co-founder and CEO Geoff Bruder told TechCrunch he thinks that Sonic Fire Tech’s process will be “significantly shorter than that.”

Part of Bruder’s optimism stems from the fact that Sonic Fire Tech’s system doesn’t leave a mess after a fire suppression event, which should speed up the process. The tests are conducted in a lab and preparation can take hours. With Sonic Fire Tech’s system, “they don’t have to do cleanup,” he said.

That advantage in the lab could pay dividends in the real world. Commercial kitchens, for example, can face months of cleanup and restoration following a fire. Some 75% of them don’t reopen, Remington Bixby Hotchkis, Sonic Fire Tech’s COO, told TechCrunch.

Sonic Fire Tech’s acoustic fire suppression system uses a sound generator to pump inaudible sound through PVC pipes in the ceiling. When sensors in a room detect a fire, the generator kicks in and infrasonic waves, around 20 Hz, bombard the flames.

“We are the only technology that creates its own suppressant without collateral damage. False alarms are less of a concern for us,” Hotchkis said. “We deploy within seconds.” 

That speedy response could stop fires before they cause significant damage, which has the insurance industry interested. The startup is in talks with insurers about whether the system will qualify for premium discounts. The insurance industry’s acceptance could speed adoption of the company’s product.

The system also shows promise when applied to lithium-ion battery fires, which are among the most challenging to put out. In the few tests Sonic Fire Tech has run so far, “we don’t put out a lithium-ion fire, but we contain it,” Bruder said. “If we’re able to keep the outer casing from lighting fire, we can potentially stop cell-to-cell spread and limit the size of the fire.”

Sonic Fire Tech is working on systems to protect the interiors of commercial buildings, kitchens, and homes, both for new construction and retrofits. The company has also been working on a system to safeguard the exterior of homes in wildfire country, though development of that has progressed more slowly as the startup waits for time at a suitable testing lab.

In addition to quicker fire suppression, Sonic Fire Tech’s system promises to lower restoration costs, if any are needed.

Today, about 500 jurisdictions mandate interior fire protection systems. But Bruder points out that 50% of home fires start in the kitchen, whether they be grease or electrical fires. Even a small Sonic Fire Tech system, focused on the kitchen, could go a long way to minimizing the risk of catastrophic house fires, lowering premiums in the process. “Sprinklers that they’re putting in now can’t handle those fires,” Bruder said. 

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Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor.

De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. He received his PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA degree in environmental studies, English, and biology from St. Olaf College.

You can contact or verify outreach from Tim by emailing tim.dechant@techcrunch.com.