He said, “I would like to see full-scale testing that includes common residential fires such as furniture and mattress fires, cooking fires, electrical fires and attic or outdoor ember exposure.” “It should also include various conditions such as open and closed doors, varying ceiling heights, crosswinds, disrupted fuel packages, and whether the fire returns after the system is shut down.”
Similarly, Michael Gollner, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley and an expert in fire dynamics, told Ars that there is not yet enough information to show that this technology works better than sprinklers.
He pointed to a 2018 academic paper that found “acoustics alone is insufficient to control flames beyond the initial stage.”
In contrast, “fire sprinklers are extensively tested and certified by standards developed by the fire protection community over many years,” he emailed Ars. “I think this product needs to demonstrate equal or better performance with the same reliability before we can even consider replacing any existing security measures. While I fully support out-of-the-box thinking, lives are truly at stake, and new technologies must carefully demonstrate effectiveness and reliability before being handed over to society.”
dodger time
As for the Contra Costa County firefighters who hosted the demonstration, they’re eager to see more. Deputy Fire Chief Tracy Dutter told Ars that the agency doesn’t recommend specific products, but it tries to understand the uses new technology could have.
“Sonic representatives indicated they are exploring opportunities to partner with fire departments to test this technology on bulldozers,” Dutter said.
“The district would be open to testing this system on one of our dodgers to better understand its limitations and potential failure points,” Dutter said.
With such new technology, firefighters also want to understand what its “long-term maintenance requirements are,” whether “regular testing or calibration is necessary to ensure reliability,” and “how system failures such as a malfunctioning detector or acoustic generator are identified and communicated to the owner.”
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