After a devastating fire tore through a residential complex in Hong Kong last November, teens Zarina Insar and Asmaul Husna Lazu – who goes by Asma – felt a sense of obligation to help their community.
That feeling of duty grew into something bigger in February of this year when the duo led six other schoolmates at Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College in designing Eldsafe 360, a prototype fire alarm system tailored to assist the public, especially the elderly, during emergencies.
Zarina, 15, and Asma, 16, explained that they were motivated to focus on Hong Kong’s older population after learning about the troubles the elderly residents of Wang Fuk Court had escaping the blaze.
“Many of these elderly ... were living alone, with limited resources, disabilities and visual impairments,” Zarina said. “So, we decided to make that our target.”
The team built a physical model of their prototype – which combines a temperature detector, speaker and an elderly-friendly mobile application interface – using cardboard, pins, thermal wiring, speakers and batteries.
Given the team’s lack of coding experience, their mentor suggested leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) tools to bring their digital interface to life.
The prototype eventually helped the team earn third place at the Schools Challenge Hong Kong 2026 – a social innovation competition for junior secondary students organised by Junior Achievement Hong Kong and JPMorgan Chase.
While the prototype has not been turned into an actual product, the school’s STEAM coordinator, Lawrence Lam Man-fai, said the initiative served as a vital bridge between science education and social care.
“Eldsafe might not be a practical tool in the real world, as there are many restrictions and limitations,” Lam said.
“[But] the thinking process and awareness are much more important than the prototype itself ... These imperfections provide key opportunities for students to explore and develop better, more innovative products that will truly work in the future.”
Designing Eldsafe 360
The fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po broke out on November 26, 2025, and burned for more than 40 hours, killing 168 people.
More than a third of the complex’s 4,643 residents were aged 65 and older, according to Hong Kong’s 2021 population census.
Investigations found that the fire alarms in all eight residential buildings had been negligently turned off a week before the tragedy struck.
Still, Asma and Zarina said they believed reliable alarms could have alerted people earlier and provided a crucial window for escape, especially for older residents with mobility issues.
To ensure their product met the actual needs of the older population, the team consulted their elderly family members during the design process.
“We asked [our grandparents]: what would help you the most from technology alone if there was to be a fire?” Zarina explained.
Their advice helped the team build accessibility features designed for the elderly: the app features high-contrast colours, large font sizes, enlarged touchpoints and text-to-speech tools.
Users can place multiple Eldsafe 360 detectors throughout the home to monitor rapid temperature fluctuations. Different temperature settings can be used for each space – for example, a kitchen could have a higher temperature than other rooms.
If a detector senses unusually high temperatures, the connected app’s display will turn bright red and sound an alarm through the speaker.
If temperatures continue spiking and users fail to intervene quickly, the app automatically alerts emergency services and pre-saved emergency contacts.
Lessons in preparedness
Although actual technical limitations remain, Lam emphasised that the human-centred design thinking and heightened safety awareness the students gained were more valuable than the physical prototype itself.
Asma said she appreciated the opportunity to build her STEAM skills.
“I think this was a [good] chance for ... experimental learning,” she said.
Joining this project also transformed how the students view safety and emergency readiness.
Zarina said she realised that emergencies are unpredictable, making preparation the ultimate line of defence.
“In emergencies, the fact is that nobody can anticipate them,” she said. “The best thing to do is prepare for them so that when [they] actually arrive, then you have things to protect [yourself] or others.”
She added that she now finds herself instinctively looking for emergency exits whenever she enters shopping malls or high-rise buildings.
In July, the Education Bureau announced new recommendations for the Health Management and Social Care (HMSC) curriculum – an elective subject in Hong Kong’s Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) system – incorporating topics on disaster management and mitigation, as well as emergency preparedness.
The current plan is to begin implementing the curriculum progressively starting in the 2028-29 school year, beginning with Form Four.
As a current HMSC student, Zarina supported the updates, saying she believes disaster awareness is “essential”.
“It’s really important not only for HMSC students, but for everyone. In case of fire, you need to know where the emergency kit is, what [evacuation] location you need to have ingrained in your mind,” she said.
Asma echoed Zarina’s views, emphasising that basic safety skills should be taught across all age groups.
“Outside of classroom academic knowledge, I think if we ... students also look into practical, real-life world situation[s], I think this is a good thing,” Asma said.
Lam suggested that the government expand the curriculum to reach a wider range of students.
“If [the Education Bureau] believes this is important, they should also include parts of it in the junior curriculum, as HMSC is only taken by a specific group of students. Some schools might not even offer the HMSC elective,” Lam said.
“More importantly, I think we need to help students understand how to prevent disasters from happening in the first place.”
