Scientists at the American Chemical Society's annual conference in Anaheim, Calif., on Sunday said the new discovery could help create a new genre of firefighting devices, according to a press release.
The devices would replace water with an electric current that would allow firefighters to battle blazes without damaging the contents of a structure.
Dr. Ludovico Cademartiri from Harvard University said that electricity can affect the shape of flames, making them bend, twist, turn, flicker, and even put them out.
Despite the 200-year-old observation of electricity's effect on fire, not much research has been done on the phenomenon.
"Our research has shown that by applying large electric fields we can suppress flames very rapidly," Cademartiri said. "We're very excited about the results of this relatively unexplored area of research."
While firefighters currently use water and foam among other substances to douse flames, the new technology would allow them to suppress fires from a distance without using physical materials, he said.
During the study, the researchers connected a high-powered electrical amplifier to a wand-like probe and shot beams of electricity at an open flame more than a foot high.
The result was that the flame was instantly snuffed out. The same thing happened each time to the fascination of the scientists.
While the amplifier was 600 watts, Cademartiri believes that a power source with only a tenth of the wattage could have a similar effect. This would allow for portable devices which could possibly be hand-carried or fit in a backpack.
Those devices could help firefighters make a patch to enter a fire or create a path for people to exit the flames.
Cademartiri said he sees electrical devices being used in buildings in the same way water sprinklers are currently used.
He said application to fires in enclosed quarters such as vehicles, planes and submarines would benefit the most while larger applications, such as wildland fires, wouldn't be as suitable.
