LifeDoor Saves You by Closing Your Door In Case of a Fire
The device makes use of a spring which is primed when it ratchets the first time you open the door loading it and preps it close during emergency.
Ben Docksteader and Joel Sellinger’s LifeDoor is creating waves at the ongoing CES at Las Vegas. A fire safety device LifeDoor is a square, white device that connects to your door hinges and can be attached to the door with either double sided tape or screwing it in. The device makes use of a spring which is primed when it ratchets the first time you open the door loading it and preps it close during emergency. When the stated sound frequency of a smoke alarm is detected by the device (marked at 85 decibels), the spring unwinds and shuts your door. In addition to this the device also sends out its own alarm to warn the house residents in case they missed the previous smoke alarm and also lights up the room. One thing to note here is that it doesn’t lock the door, but simply closes it. The door can be opened.
For its power requirements Life Door makes use of a 9V battery and it should last anywhere between 18-24 months depending on the usage. It also comes with a circular ring light for visual in addition to sound alerts. LifeDoor can also be integrated with your smartphones and plans to make use of Z-waves to send push notifications to your device. It still in prototype phase though and undergoing refinement and is working to get certified by the UL.
According to the inventors Ben and Joel, the idea for making such a device was inspired by a fact widely acknowledged in firefighter circles but isn’t known much anywhere else is most of the deaths in a fire are caused by smoke inhalation, super heated and toxic gas. And this can simply be reduced to a great degree by closing a door. The UL has undertaken campaigns to spread awareness about this fact over last couple of months after some studies concluded the effectiveness of this countermeasure. One interesting fact about LifeDoor is that a large chunk of support for it has come from the firefighter community.
LifeDoor isn’t available yet but is available for pre-ordering and set to be shipped in fall of 2018, when it does come to market these door closing sensors are estimated to retail at $120 each.
