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

声波灭火初创公司获 1500 万美元融资，旨在火灾酿成灾难前将其扑灭

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. 一个多世纪以来，消防手段一直局限于水和化学药剂。虽然它们可以防止灾难性火灾，但清理费用往往十分高昂。不过，这种情况可能很快就会改变。Sonic Fire Tech 正在测试一种声波灭火系统，据称该系统能在几秒钟内扑灭火灾，同时避免了水和化学药剂造成的混乱损害。

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. 该公司周一宣布，已完成由 The O.H.I.O. Fund 领投、Khosla Ventures 跟投的 1500 万美元融资。这家初创公司此前曾在 10 月份筹集了 350 万美元的种子轮资金。这笔新资金将帮助这家位于俄亥俄州的初创公司招聘更多员工，并进行一系列必要的测试，以获得美国国家消防协会（National Fire Protection Association）的批准，该协会负责制定被全国消防部门采用的标准规范。

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. 审批过程通常需要三年左右，但联合创始人兼首席执行官 Geoff Bruder 告诉 TechCrunch，他认为 Sonic Fire Tech 的审批流程将“比这短得多”。Bruder 的乐观部分源于 Sonic Fire Tech 的系统在灭火后不会留下任何残留物，这应该能加快测试进度。测试是在实验室进行的，准备工作可能需要数小时。他说，使用 Sonic Fire Tech 的系统，“他们不需要进行清理工作”。

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. 这种在实验室中的优势可能会在现实世界中带来回报。例如，商业厨房在火灾后可能面临数月的清理和修复工作。Sonic Fire Tech 的首席运营官 Remington Bixby Hotchkis 告诉 TechCrunch，约有 75% 的商业厨房在火灾后无法重新开业。

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.” Sonic Fire Tech 的声学灭火系统使用声音发生器，通过天花板内的 PVC 管道泵送人耳听不见的声音。当房间内的传感器检测到火灾时，发生器就会启动，约 20 赫兹的次声波会轰击火焰。Hotchkis 表示：“我们是唯一一种在不造成附带损害的情况下产生自身灭火介质的技术。我们不太担心误报问题，我们能在几秒钟内完成部署。”

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. 这种快速响应可以在火灾造成重大损失之前将其扑灭，这引起了保险业的兴趣。该初创公司正在与保险公司商谈该系统是否有资格获得保费折扣。保险业的认可可能会加速该公司产品的普及。

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.” 该系统在应用于锂离子电池火灾时也显示出潜力，这是最难扑灭的火灾类型之一。Bruder 说，在 Sonic Fire Tech 目前进行的几次测试中，“我们虽然不能完全扑灭锂电池火灾，但可以将其控制住。如果我们能防止外壳起火，就有可能阻止电池单元之间的蔓延，并限制火势的规模。”

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. Sonic Fire Tech 正在开发用于保护商业建筑、厨房和住宅内部的系统，既适用于新建项目，也适用于旧房改造。该公司还在开发一种保护野火多发地区住宅外部的系统，尽管由于初创公司正在等待合适的实验室测试时间，该系统的开发进展较为缓慢。

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. 除了更快的灭火速度外，Sonic Fire Tech 的系统还承诺降低（如有必要）修复成本。目前，约有 500 个司法管辖区强制要求安装室内消防系统。但 Bruder 指出，50% 的家庭火灾始于厨房，无论是油脂火灾还是电气火灾。即使是一个专注于厨房的小型 Sonic Fire Tech 系统，也能在很大程度上最大限度地降低灾难性房屋火灾的风险，并在此过程中降低保费。Bruder 说：“他们现在安装的喷淋系统无法应对这些火灾。”