Scientists have developed a novel fire extinguisher for use in space environments that sucks in the flame as well as combustion product.
The Vacuum Extinguish Method (VEM), is designed by researchers at the Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan.
VEM is based on the completely "reverse" operation of widely-used fire extinguisher, namely, spraying extinguisher agent(s) into the firing point.
VEM is based on the suction of the combustible products and the flame with vacuum, and then collecting them into a vacuum container to be isolated.
It is useful for the special environments that are highly enclosed -- such as space vehicles and submarines -- to prevent spreading the harmful combustion products such as fume, particulate matters, toxic gas component across the entire enclosed cabin.
