Fighting fire with water may soon be so last-century, according to researchers at Harvard University, who see waving an electronic wand as the next big thing in fire suppression.

Presenting a paper at the American Chemical Society, Ludovico Cademartiri, Ph.D and his team described a discovery that could underpin a new generation of firefighting and suppression devices using electric current.

They picked up on a 200-year-old observation that electricity can affect the shape of flames, making flames bend, twist, turn, flicker, and even snuffing them out.

“Controlling fires is an enormously difficult challenge,” said Dr Cademartiri, who reported on the research. “Our research has shown that by applying large electric fields we can suppress flames very rapidly. We’re very excited about the results of this relatively unexplored area of research.”

In the study, they connected a powerful electrical amplifier to a wand-like probe and used the device to shoot beams of electricity at an open flame more than a foot high. Almost instantly, the flame was snuffed out.

The device consisted of a 600-watt amplifier – about the same power as a high-end car stereo system. But Dr Cademartiri believes that a power source with only a tenth of this wattage could have similar flame suppressing effect. That could be a boon to firefighters, since it would enable the use of portable flame-tamer devices, which could be handheld or could fit into a backpack.

The phenomenon is complex, say the researchers, but it appears that carbon particles, or soot, generated in the flame are key for its response to electric fields. Soot particles can easily become charged and the particles respond to the electric field, affecting the stability of flames.

“Combustion is first and foremost a chemical reaction – arguably one of the most important – but it’s been somewhat neglected by most of the chemical community,” said Dr Cademartiri. “We’re trying to get a more complete picture of this very complex interaction.”

He foresees that potentially, the technology could be used for fixed fire suppression systems in buildings. Alternatively, firefighters might carry the flame-tamer in the form of a backpack and distribute the electricity to fires using a handheld wand.

American Chemical Society press release