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Nowadays, a number of cities are evolving into smart cities integrating automated, real-time, and reliable services to numerous inhabitants. However, the challenges of smart cities are equally numerous and chief among them in Ghana was the repeated and unstoppable fire outbreaks. Fire is a highly dangerous scenario, and it is critical to monitor it constantly and detect it at the earliest stage to avoid serious devastation. This paper proposes an innovative method of efficiently and effectively detecting early fire at a relatively low cost. This study adopted an experimental approach in designing and constructing a low-cost artifact that made use of an Arduino board and a set of sensors including an MQ-2 sensor, Infrared sensor, LCD display, and a buzzer. The device was programmed in C using the Arduino development environment. The proposed system was able to detect the early presence of smoke, trigger an alarm, and displayed constantly the status of the system on an LCD display. Consistent tests proved that the developed fire alarm system was reliable, responsive, and cost-effective. The mass production of this device will help mediate the constant occurrence of fire in buildings, especially in developing countries. However, the availability of raw materials for quick and effective products is also a challenge. The merit of the paper relies on the intelligence programmed in the microcontroller coupled with the operation of the sensor that permitted early detection of fire yet at a relatively lower cost. |
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