Filipino researchers use sound waves to extinguish fire

A group of researchers from the Philippines is making headlines for creating a “fire exterminator” device that uses sound waves.

The device was created by University of Mindanao engineering graduates Francis Bagol, Franco Bellera and Chris John Pogoy, along with their adviser Stephen Paul Alagao. The project was designed to extinguish fires on electrical wiring or gadgets that would otherwise be dangerous to put out with water. It incorporates a sensor that automatically detects and stops fire from a maximum range of two meters, making it an ideal home safety device. Not only is the device chemical-free; it is also safe for the human ears as it produces only around 80 decibels, the approximate equivalent of the sound produced by a vacuum cleaner.

Winning second place at the 2022 National Invention Contest and Exhibit of the Department of Science and Technology, the group has patented the project, which was registered on March 13, 2023.