The EcoSlide - Fire Safety for All

In a week we will be approaching the one year mark after the Pacific Palisades fire. Many people's entire homes were burnt down to ash including some people I personally know, and there were unfortunately fatalities. There were about 12 deaths and 4 non-fatal injuries. From 2014-2023 there were about 344,600 thousand residential buildings on fire including about 2,890 fatalities and 10,400 injuries in the USA according to the USFA (United States Fire Administration). This can never happen again. Not just in Los Angeles but all around the word, people and families need to be prepared because anything can happen.

To help prevent more casualties and injuries I have came up with a solution that gives people around the world an extra sense of safety. It is called The EcoSlide. The EcoSlide is a little outdoor window garden with fake flowers and plants that can be simply drilled into a persons outer walls or windows. In case you are ever in an emergency go to the closest window or the window you have places you EcoSlide on and then unlock the easy use latch and push it out, then grab the fire blanket inside the box. After that the inflatable slide (which is fire proof and can hold around 300 pounds) will inflate quickly. Once the inflation is complete you will see a green light flashing on the side of the box, if it is not ready the light will be red. Once the light indicates it is ready to go slide down with the fire blanket and put it on once you are able to.

For my prototype I used the following:

1. Cardboard
2. Computer w/ Tinkercad Account (Account it free)
3. Pliers
4. Hot Glue Gun
5. Hot Glue Stick
6. Paper Tissue
7. Colored Cardstock
8. Paper Clips
9. Scissors
10. Exacto Knife

Here are some questions that came to my mind when brainstorming this project:

My first question to researching this was to see how many people actually plan for fires in America.

Here is what I found: There were no surveys done about how many people are prepared for a fire in America but there was one done in California. According to Public Policy Institute of California a survey was conducted to find out that only about 35% of Californians felt prepared if there was a fire. California is prone to many fires so if California's preparation for fires is that low I can't imagine what other results there are.

My second question is what other products are there to buy.

After some research I found that there were not many tools that are like this, in fact I could not find one. I found that there were several fire blankets and the closest thing I got to my idea was a escape ladder. In panic your mind can be in auto pilot and going down a ladder can cause even more injury which is why the Eco slide is the best option.

My third question is how more are people likely to buy something if it aesthetically looks better.

My assumption was correct, after researching more, when people see something that looks visually appealing they are a lot more likely to buy it not matter what the product is. This is called the Halo effect, it is essentially saying that when someone sees something visually appealing they automatically think that the functionality of it is better and it is more useful. The Eco Slide brings tons of safety but we also wanted to make sure that your home still looks great with the box being discussed as a little window garden and the best part is that you will never have to water them because they are fake and fire proof plants.

My fourth and final question is what happens to a person's mind when they are experiencing a fire in the moment.

As someone would think you brain goes into auto pilot making it so you have trouble thinking. Have you ever been in a situation where you are just so anxious you can't set your mind straight? Thats the feeling that most people have and its why EcoSlide is so good. EcoSlide is simple and you will always know where it is and how to use it. The instructions are simple and even a child could do it.

For this I knew I wanted to make a simple CAD on Tinkercad so I could prove my concept would work. Also so I could help visualize what I was doing when making the cardboard prototype.

This part took me quite a while, because I do not have access to better supplies currently it was hard to make the visually appealing part accurate.

First thing I did was make the paper flowers by hand which was very fun to do but a lot harder than I thought. I probably should have used a tutorial.

Second thing I did was hot glue the flowers to a piece of cardboard which would normally be the dirt.

Third thing I did was hot glue/cut all of the other parts to make the base and then make the cardboard hinge.

Fourth thing I did was grab the tissue paper and hot glued 3 of the sides so I could make a pillow but while leaving one side out to blow into.

Finally I did the last touches and you can see how it went!

You can see live action shots of how it works if you click on the videos!

I have felt like I have learned a lot through this project especially how to make things work efficiently in a confined space. I would love to make this a reality in the future or have someone else take this idea and make it a reality.