Pasco firefighter invents new kind of electrical outlet
LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - As a father and Pasco County firefighter, safety is first for Steven Pink. For the past few years, he's been focused on the safety of electrical outlets.
"The most common injury is within children from 2 to 8 just sticking things in the outlets," said Pink.
He got a bright idea one night as he was going to bed.
"The lights were off and I went to plug in my phone and I struggled to plug it in and a light bulb went off and I thought, 'How about a magnetic connection where I can just throw it at a wall and make a connection?'"
Two years later, he's on the fourth prototype of his invention.
"It's a new connection for electricity," he said.
With the help of engineers and manufacturers at CMS World Group in Clearwater, he came up with his product called Linktronics.
"He wanted to do away with the three-prong plug and the outlets the way they were now because he felt they weren't safe," said Charles Ferrer, the president and CEO of CMS World Group.
"You have elderly people with dexterity issues, the physically handicapped," Pink pointed out, explaining the people who could potentially benefit from his invention.
He explained how Linktronics works.
"It's a magnet slapping against another magnet and transferring energy the same way that your outlet works today," he said.
It has a double safety mechanism.
"The outlet is basically dead until you connect something to it that creates the current that creates a live outlet," said Pink.
It's even safe to clean.
"A lot of times that bacteria is dwelling inside the electrical box and it comes in through those holes so we eliminate the holes and it's just a surface clean so they can wipe it with alcohol," said Ferrer.
Pink hopes to one day see Linktronics throughout homes and businesses.
"The ease of throwing it behind the couch. We all have those connections in the house where the connections can be difficult," said Pink.
He hopes it will give other families a brighter and safer future.