The recent London blaze that took 58 people’s lives has once again raised public concern over the efficiency of fire rescue protocol, a global problem that could potentially be solved by innovative Chinese designers.

China Construction Third Engineering Bureau (CCTB) announced on June 20 that it has successfully tested a high-rise escape magnetic descent device in Wuhan, Hubei province. The device proved capable of evacuating an 80-kilogram adult from a 40-meter-high building in just 26 seconds during a test.

“The escape device consists of a magnetic manned unit and a non-ferromagnetic track attached to the outer wall of a building. The device does not need electricity and can be deployed on any building. Professional training is not necessary to use it, and the device’s descent speed can be controlled,” Liu Zhimao, vice director of the CCTB, told Changjiang Daily in an interview.

According to CCTB, as long as there is enough space, the device can even be used on a 600-meter-tall building. Currently, the device can transport adults weighing up to 120 kilograms, and the cost of the device is only a few thousand RMB.

CCTB is not the only organization in China to attempt the design of a better fire rescue device. Fan Shizhong, a student at Hunan University, has created a prototype of a rescue vehicle featuring a folded and telescopic rescue slide that can be adjusted for height and angle. Fan’s design allows evacuees to safely slide down from high-rise buildings, as the device effectively slows the rate of decline. Fan's design won the 2017 Core77 Design Awards, an international award for industrial design.