12-year-old South Korean invents phone grip that filters smoke in fires
Kim Ji-on, a 12-year-old student from Geoje, created a phone case grip with a built-in filter that lets users breathe through smoke for a short time.
After learning about a hotel fire in Bucheon that claimed seven lives, 12-year-old Kim Ji-on imagined a way to keep protective gear attached to an everyday object. During a school field trip to a fire station, she conceived a phone-case grip fitted with activated carbon fibre and a non-woven filter that absorbs toxic gases and traps particles. The grip unfolds into a makeshift mask, offering roughly one to two minutes of clean air, enough for a victim to escape.
Supported by teachers at Chilcheon Elementary School in Geoje, Kim entered the invention in the national Youth Invention Festival, winning the Presidential Award among 6,959 submissions. The prize of 3 million won will be directed toward fire-safety projects in poorer countries. The festival, founded in 1988, highlighted four winners from Kim’s small island school.
Why it matters
A low-cost, portable smoke filter could give more people a chance to survive fires, especially where traditional masks are unavailable.
In this story
