A system that helps locate and rescue trapped fire victims in apartments, designed by Lâm Hùng Vĩ (left) and Lâm Bảo Trân (right) from Sóc Trăng Province, has won the second prize in a provincial science competition due to its practicality and effectiveness. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

SÓC TRĂNG — A system that can locate trapped apartment residents during fires has won second prize at the Sóc Trăng Province Science and Technology Competition 2023-2024 for high school students.

Created by Lâm Bảo Trân and Lâm Hùng Vĩ, 11th graders from Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School for the Gifted (Sóc Trăng Province), the project assists firefighters and rescue teams in locating and promptly rescuing people during fires.

A sensor will be placed on the ceiling of each apartment, and a monitoring system will be set up in the management room of the apartment complex, Lâm Hùng Vĩ told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper.

“The two systems connect and transfer data using WiFi.”

When there is a fire, the system will identify the whereabouts of the unusually high heat and signal the sensor.

Then, the monitoring system will automatically alert apartment managers and rescue personnel and provide guidance to residents.

It also helps find and locate those that are stuck through a human-identifying sensor, a high-heat sensor, and an emergency button placed in each household.

Residents can press the emergency button, and information such as who the resident is, room number, and floor level, will be sent immediately to the management system.

There are also speakers attached to the system for rescue personnel to guide residents to evacuate safely.

Priced at an estimated VNĐ2 million (US$78.4), the students believe the system will be soon put into use to enhance safety in apartment complexes. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

To optimise the user experience, the students also designed a web page that can easily be accessed via smartphones or computers with wifi connection. It operates and alerts users just like the monitoring system.

If there is no wifi due to power outages, the system has a backup power source that produces enough wifi for the system to run smoothly, said Lâm Bảo Trân.

“Since each system only costs an estimated VNĐ2 million (US$78.4), I believe every household can afford this to improve their safety. It is also very easy to use,” she said.

“This system performed very well during testing. It is very practical, easy to control, and user-friendly. Its hardware components are also designed to be easily mass-manufactured,” colonel Bùi Văn Hồng, deputy head of the provincial Police Department of Fire Prevention, Fighting, and Rescue, said. VNS