Electricity can be used to fight fires!

A group of researchers from Harvard University demonstrated the potential for electric “hoses” in fighting fires this past March at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society. The scientists shot beams of electricity from a wand at foot-high flames and were able to manipulate and even extinguish the fire completely! Each time, the electric wand managed to snuff out the flames instantly.

The depths of this phenomenon are not fully understood, but it is made possible through a reaction between the electric field and carbon particles in soot. Soot particles can easily become charged, and this causes fire to lose stability. Researchers hope that someday this technology could be used in fire stations. In the years to come, firefighters could walk around dousing flames with backpack-mounted batteries hooked up to these wands...like some kind of futuristic firefighting Ghostbusters!
(source)