A fire is a dangerous thing if left to go out of control. In a highly combustible area in close quarters it can be quite devastating. While all precautions are taken to ensure that no fire hazard occurs, more often than not most cities have seen fire fighting required.

Now imagine how that scenario would play out in the International Space Station. It can even be bad in a area under water such as on a submarine. A fire is pretty much the death knoll in such cases.

Can one use a highly pressurized foam to put out fires in low gravity conditions? Not really. That’s why the need to develop VEM or the Vacuum Extinguish Method. The fire extinguisher here doesn’t throw out anything. In fact it sucks in the flames as well as the combustion product in complete reversal of the traditional fire fighting technique.

The apparatus developed at the Toyohashi University of Technology uses VEM to create a fire extinguisher that can be used in space as well as submarines. The system allows the removal of fume, particulate matter, toxic gases, and components that could cause a health issue. This is one science project that has amazing practical uses.