According to the U.S. Fire Administration, while most Americans have a fire extinguisher in their home, only a small percentage of adults know how to actually use one.
While fire departments offer training to ensure fire safety in the home, one student in Sarasota, Florida has another idea.
Henry Zhou was a senior at Pine View High School when he first introduced The Smartvolly, a “smart” fire extinguisher that automatically puts out fires.
“Residential fires still harm hundreds of thousands of people each year and cause billions of dollars in property damage, so I was thinking, how do I help solve this issue,” Zhou told WFTS News last year.
With the help of the high school’s entrepreneurial club, they designed SmartVolly to be affordable and automatic — with the added ability of connecting to phones via a mobile app.
“It connects to cellular devices so you can monitor temperature levels and sensor values for the device, and it automatically extinguishes a fire once a certain temperature is met,” Zhou explained to WFTS News.
The prototype gained the attention of the National Society of High School Scholars, awarding the team a $10,000 grant to bring the idea to fruition. Zhou and peers were also recognized by Florida Rep. Greg Steube in a Congressional App Challenge.
“I wouldn’t pursue it if I wasn’t optimist,” Zhou told WFTS News, “and I 100% believe in the device right now I’m getting a patent.”
His optimism isn’t because of the exciting accolades — though, those don’t hurt. It’s because he knows that the current way people protect their homes from fires isn’t working.
“Fire extinguishers are manual, and fire alarms can’t extinguish fires,” Zhou and peers wrote for their entry in the Congressional App Challenge.
“Our solution to this problem was… SmartVolly, a cheap automatic fire detector and extinguisher that detects fires in front of the device using temperature readings and extinguishes them using a fire retardant powder to avoid water damage.”
Based on prototype videos, the device looks like a slim decorative item that could easily be placed in a kitchen, a central location for fire risks.
According to Zhou, it can extinguish fires within a one-meter radius of the front of the device.
The device simply monitors temperatures, and if they exceed a warning threshold, users will first receive a warning notification on their mobile app. If those temperatures exceed an extinguisher threshold, users receive an alert that the device will automatically extinguish the fire.
The extinguisher can also be manually set off from the app at any time.
While it’s unclear what the next step in the Smartvolly journey will be, its website indicates that a Kickstarter campaign is in the works to help get this device into homes as soon as possible.
“Smartvolly gives you peace of mind, knowing your loved ones and your home are well-protected from fires,” Zhou says in a promotional video for the product, “even when you are away from home.”
Header image courtesy of Smartvolly
