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Most high school students are thinking about Friday night dates or sports. But one San Francisco, California student was concerned about people losing their homes and belonging to wildfires. So concerned, that he created the Fire Activated Canister Extinguisher (FACE) that is made for home use.
Arul Mathur was inspired to create the device after he moved from New Jersey to California and saw first-hand the destructiveness of wildfires, according to New Atlas. In the past few years, California wildfires have become stronger, hotter, and much more destructive.
“I heard about the hundreds of thousands of people who evacuated their homes every year to flee from wildfires, but I never thought that I could be one of those people,” he told New Atlas. “Finally, in the summer of 2019, a wildfire threatened to force my family to evacuate our home. At that moment, it became personal. I knew that I needed to do something about it.”
His interest in wildfires and their destructive nature is discussed in this TEDx MeritAcademy video. Here he explores how fires begin and how long they take to be extinguished. Mathur took this knowledge to heart and created a method to save people’s homes.
According to Mathur, that’s because the heat-activated fire suppression technology that is used in the device will help snuff out fires even if you aren’t home and without being connected to water or electricity.
That’s because FACE was designed with the help of mechanical and chemical engineers. This device consists of a wall-mounted canister that is made up of a sprinkler head and a pressure valve that uses a traditional bicycle pump and compressor to measure the amount of fire retardant according to Spring Wise.
The device self-activates when the temperature reaches 155 Fahrenheit (68 Celsius). Heat from flames causes the glycerin-filled sprinkler head to open and spray 4 – 5 feet in all directions. According to Mathur, if FACE devices are located every 10-12 feet around a home, it can create a fire-suppressing wall.
The patent-pending device is not being produced yet but can be purchased from Mathur’s Kickstarter campaign. All proceeds from the presale will be used to supply FACE devices to fire-prone areas.
With wildfire season affecting the US in California, Greece, Turkey, and many other places globally, a fire suppression method that can protect your family’s home and treasured belongings from destruction is worth far more than just a pound of prevention.
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