Students create system that can detect fires early and notify 911

AUSTIN, Texas - A group of fourth and fifth graders is working to make a difference in Austin by creating a system that can detect fires early and notify 911.

As part of the first Lego League competition, students from Laurel Mountain Middle School collaborated with the Jollyville Fire Department to create a prototype of their fire detection system.

They hosted an open house to showcase what the fire detection system can do and how it would work.

Their idea has already been presented to officials, such as Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza and Austin Fire Department Chief Joel Baker.

For the kids, they say the idea started from personal experience.

"We researched on many different topics, then in August we got our verdict for our season -- and it was to find a problem in our neighborhood, city, or someplace else, find a solution, and share it. So one of our teammates had previously experienced a lawn fire and another teammate had done research on wildfires," Ruhan Gupta says.

Gupta adds, "So we decided that wildfires and lawn fires is what we want to solve. Our product will detect any motion on the lawn to detect if it's a fire. If it's a fire -- then it notifies the owner."

The team is actively working to make the project a reality.

So far, more than 100 people have signed up to buy the product when it's released and fire departments are working to see if they can add it to their systems.