Flashing firefighter safety boot places second in scholarship competition
Concern for firefighter safety and creativity have earned 14-year-old Ashley Kling, a ninth-grade student from Akron, Ohio, second place in the 17th Duracell/National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) Scholarship Competition and a $10,000 savings bond. King`s mother and stepfather are firefighters. Her invention, the Flashing Firemen`s Safety Boot, “hopefully will help make firefighting safer and save the lives of many courageous firefighters,” she says. Two AAA-size Duracell batteries power a light that has been inserted in the sole of each boot. Wires connect the light to a pressure switch that flashes as weight is placed on it or as the firefighter crawls.
“Firefighting is not the safest of jobs,” Kling explains. “One of the biggest safety issues, besides the scorching temperatures, is the lack of visibility due to smoke. Firemen often crawl to get beneath the smoke. Because it`s dark, I invented a way to illuminate the exposed bottoms of firemen`s boots.”
The competition for middle school and high school students drew 1,432 prototype entries from 1,928 students. One hundred were selected as finalists. Their inventors were awarded savings bonds ranging in value from $20,000 to $500. Students retain all rights to their devices. All participants received a gift and certificate of participation. Criteria for judging are creativity, practicality, energy efficiency, and clarity of an accompanying explanatory essay; all devices must use batteries. Sponsored by Duracell Inc., the contest is administered by the NSTA. For additional information, contact Kathleen Holmay at (301) 942-9595, fax: (301) 942-2777, e-mail: kholmay@ deans.umd.edu, or Eric Crossley, National Science Teachers Association at (703) 312-9258. n
