In the third century before Christ, Archimedes came up with an idea that would radically change the studies of physics and mechanics. It was an endless screw, a spiral screw inside a cylinder with several openings, and it was used to transport water or products such as flour or corn from a lower to a higher level. Several centuries and civilisations later, this simple principle is still used in numerous utensils and in mechanics, and now even to save lives.

A secondary school teacher and university student in Malaga have come up with an idea, based on Archimedes’ invention, which makes it easier to rescue people from buildings that are being evacuated in an emergency. The system, which has already been patented, consists of a support which is attached to the structure of the building in question with cables. These are combined in a sort of plait to form a helicoidal cable. This steel cable is hooked onto a brake on the ground – on a fire engine, for instance. This means that people can be attached to a harness and slide down a building using this system.

“The helicoidal form of the cable means that the harness is stable and only moves when you turn it”, explains José María González, a Technology teacher at Huelin Secondary School in Malaga and the inventor of the contraption. Thus, a motor or a simple handle connected to the cable can make it turn round so that people can slide down it at a controlled speed. González says that this system has a lot of advantages over traditional firemen’s ladders, as it can reach much higher and a large number of people can be evacuated using the same piece of apparatus.

“Ever since the twin towers attack I promised myself that I would find a solution for this type of rescue”, says González, who has a degree in Technical Chemistry. He had already patented an earlier version of this system in 1984.

César Mencia Almansa has also spent many hours working on the prototype, presented to the media last month at Las Pirámides Fire Station in Malaga. César is a young Industrial Design student at Malaga University and he has presented the idea for his final-year project. “We have still got to improve some aspects of it, but I think it could be extremely useful”, comments César, who has worked on the technical aspects of the apparatus.

The head of the Innovation Department at the Andalusian Government, María Gámez, has given her full support to the scheme, “which could save lives and for that reason is extremely important”.

The Project

Research workers: José María González Ordóñez (teacher at Huelin Secondary School in Malaga) and César Mencia Almansa (Industrial Design Student at Malaga University).

More information: www.indess.com