A spate of false fire alarms have recently been caused by a new type of burglar deterrent, a generator that fills rooms with a smoke-like fog.
Usually triggered by motion detection, these fog cannons will emit a large amount of artificially generated smoke that is designed to impede visibility in a room and cause intruders to become disoriented by temporarily losing one of their main senses. The smoky fog is so dense that anyone in the vicinity will not even be able to see their hands in front of their faces. The smoke is non-toxic and won’t damage equipment or stock, it’s goal being simply to limit the movement of the intruders giving police time to attend the scene and apprehend anyone on-site.
However, with the rise in popularity of this type of anti-theft device fire crews have also seen a rise in the number of false fire alarms. This type of device has been designed not to cause smoke alarms to be activated but, where older smoke alarms might be installed, faults can occur that cause the fire alarm to be triggered.
In addition, many members of the public have been reporting fires upon seeing artificial smoke rolling out of buildings during thefts. Believing there to be a real fire underway they have called emergency services requesting the fire brigade. The most recent example was just last week when passers-by noticed smoke being emitted from a shop in Swaffham, Norfolk early in the morning. In reality there was no fire and the smoke device had been activated accidentally.
While this technology should be commended for it’s bid to reduce theft it should also be noted that if false alarms continue to arise, shop owners could face fines under the new Localism Bill – especially if they are not seen to be taking preventative measures to stop false alarms.
Discount Fire Supplies sells fire alarms and other fire safety devices. On our sister website IntruderAlarmPanels.co.uk you’ll find a range of motion detectors and other anti-intruder devices.
