Sonic Fire Tech, Inc., completed $15 million in financing, with the lead investor, O.H.I.O. Fund, Khosla Ventures. According to the company, the new funds will be used to expand the team and to advance the product testing and certification process.

Funding for testing and approval

Sonic Fire Tech, based in Ohio, completed $3.5 million in seed ship financing last October. According to the company, the focus is now on completing a series of experimental tests for certification through the National Fire Society of the United States.

The National Fire Society of the United States is responsible for the development of model fire codes, which will be adopted by the United States Multiland Fire Department. Geoff Bruder, the co-founder and chief executive officer of the company, stated that regular approval usually takes about three years, but he expects that the home-based programme will advance faster.

The system suppresses fire with infrasound.

The system does not rely on water or chemical fire extinguishers, but works through acoustic generating devices installed in ceiling pipes. When the fire is detected by the sensor in the room, the equipment will be activated and approximately 20 Hz infrasound will be released to the source of the fire.

According to the company, the system could intervene in seconds to reduce the problems of cleaning and repair that are common after traditional spraying or chemical fire suppression. In its view, this would also mean a lower incidental loss resulting from the misstatement, as there would be no large area residues after the system was activated.

Commercial kitchens and battery scenes are in focus.

Commercial kitchens are considered to be one of the more promising landing sites, as post-fire clean-up and rehabilitation often last longer. The insurance industry has also begun to focus on the prospects for the application of such systems, and the company is discussing with the insurance agencies whether they can provide premium benefits in the future.

In the lithium ion cell fire test, the system is not currently able to directly extinguish the source of the fire, but the company claims to have demonstrated the ability to control the spread, in particular by limiting the continued spread between the cores. In addition to commercial construction, the company is developing a version of a residential and rehabilitation project.