HOWELL — In 1996, Peter Kuppler and other firefighters were called to respond to a residential fire in Howell where they believed several children were trapped in an upstairs room. When two firemen mistook a storage room for the children's bedroom, they suffered serious injuries from smoke inhalation, injuries that Kuppler believes could have been avoided.

Since that incident, Kuppler, who is a patrolman with the Howell Police Department and a volunteer firefighter in Allenhurst, has been at work developing a device that could fit under a door and prevent smoke from entering a room.

After much trial and error, he created the Smokestopper.

"Basically, the Smokestopper is placed under entranceways and prevents smoke from entering a room. It also has a strip on the side of it which will light up when firefighters see it, notifying them of which rooms people live in and which rooms are empty," Kuppler explained.

The Smokestopper has a reflective coating that identifies rooms where people will be found. Firefighters will save time by not having to open doors to a room where people are not likely to be found.

Kuppler demonstrated the Smokestopper by setting off a smoke machine in a house and having firefighters save a dummy, which he said was easier to find because of the Smokestopper.

"Basically, I feel there is not enough education with fire prevention. Many people are still dying daily due to fire and smoke," said Kuppler. "Many [victims] are found in a closet or in a tub full of water to prevent the fire from getting to them. The smoke will get to them, though. That's why we created a device which would make smoke tougher to get to the resident."

The mainstream release of the Smokestopper coincides with National Fire Prevention Month, which is October.

"Some people do not know this, but the No. 1 cause of fire-related deaths is smoke inhalation; 50 percent to 80 percent of deaths are actually the result of smoke-related injuries rather than burns," he said.

Kuppler is hoping the Smokestopper will eventually find a place not only in homes, but in all types of facilities.

"Besides being for commercial use, we are looking to use the Smokestopper in schools and other municipal buildings," he said. "It can work on all floor surfaces and hopefully will prevent many more smokerelated deaths."

According to the Smokestopper Internet Web site, the product sells for $29.95.

— Zach Levine