Sliding to safety

Zhou says his invention is "safe, rapid, simply constructed, easy to use, and suitable for use in newly constructed buildings as well as existing buildings".

Gu Mingguan, an engineer with the Shanghai Minjie Metalwork Company that constructed Zhou's slide, says it costs about 10,000 yuan ($1,600) to build the slide for one floor.

"This slide is handmade, so it is a bit rough," he says, "but if we produce them in large quantities in the future, we can use a mould which would help reduce the cost."

Zhou received a patent for the rapid evacuation slide last June and is eager to promote his invention.

Sun Feng, CEO of Shanghai SIG Real Estate Investment and Management Co, Ltd, has shown great interest in the project after an on-the-spot examination of the slide.

"This is a creative idea. But we have to solve many problems before applying the slide to more buildings, such as whether the effect will be weakened if it extends to dozens of floors and whether the human body could withstand the long distance of sliding," Sun says.

"We need more technical parameters and acknowledgement from professional medical institutions to make the final decision," he says.

Sun has invited Zhou's team to make a slide for a 31-story building of his company to conduct further tests.

A spokesman from the Shanghai Fire Prevention Bureau says that the bureau is not ready to endorse the slide.

"We can not be certain of its effectiveness without a test in a real fire," says the spokesman who requested to remain anonymous.

Despite not yet gaining support from the fire bureau, Zhou has not stopped finding ways to improve his invention. He is designing a sprinkler system that will be triggered as soon as the slide is deployed. With water, victims can wet a piece of cloth and cover their nose to avoid breathing in smoke and choking.

"Escaping from a fire in a high-rise building is a worldwide challenge. My solution may seem funny - it is just a slide. But many complicated problems are solved by simple ways," Zhou says.