Clearing the fog

Latest statistics show that burglaries cost the retail sector alone an estimated £111 million per year* and the vast majority of burglaries are usually completed within three minutes.

Tags on the goods themselves, alarm systems and CCTV acts as a powerful deterrent. But would security installers agree that these means of security are working adequately and in the best possible way?

Owners today have to comply with the strict requirements of their insurers by having all of the traditional deterrents, plus reinforced glass, ram-raid bollards, CCTV and alarm systems linked to central monitoring stations. Although investment in security continues to rise, crime levels and insurance premiums never seem to fall, which could be because losing merchandise and disruption to business in the following days remain relatively unchanged.

The reality is that none of these security measures actually do anything to protect the victims’ assets once intruders gain access. This has serious financial implications not only in terms of insurance costs but also potential loss of business, unhappy customers and downtime, and therefore needs addressing by security installers and company decision makers alike.

The ‘commercial’ burglar has done his research and knows that his ‘window of opportunity’ lies open from the time the alarm is activated until the time the authorities arrive. Response times can be anything from ten to twenty minutes to an hour or longer.

With the majority of this type of burglary, particularly of the ‘ram-raid’ variety, being completed within the first few minutes, there is little opportunity for the authorities to arrive in time to prevent losses and damage.

So what can security installers do to not only minimise the impact of burglaries on premises they are involved with, but to also offer added value to businesses looking at their security?

The answer lies in closing that ‘window of opportunity’ and protecting valued items until the authorities arrive. More and more business owners are taking the view that traditional security measures are no longer adequate and are opting for new ‘active’ security systems.

Under the banner of ‘active’ security come rising security screens, used where cash is held, and rising bollards triggered to rise after closing time. Fogging systems are also proving a highly effective solution in non-domestic burglary.

For many years ‘smoke generators’ have been used in the entertainment industry – for theatrical performances and discos – but it was not until the 1980s that the potential for using such machines in security applications became apparent. Machines were specifically designed for security purposes, yet still based on the fundamental principle of generating a blanket of impenetrable fog.

The ‘vapour’ produced by such machines is from a safe and harmless mixture of water and glycol. When the fog is required, the mixture is quickly heated to a high temperature by being passed through a heat exchanger which is permanently charged at all times. The formula is emitted into the environment under high pressure, whereupon it quickly vapourises into dense fog.

Burglar shocked and disorientated

This rapid fogging leaves the burglar shocked and disoriented and, in most cases, will cause them to flee at the outset. If they stay, the density of the fog prevents them from seeing their intended haul. Furthermore, there is little opportunity for the intruders to ‘trash’ the room, thereby minimising interruption to business and allowing trading to continue the next day, instead of days or even weeks.By linking the fogging system to an alarm system, it can be triggered to activate the moment the alarm system detects the intruder.

Systems are safely used where food, jewellery, clothing and electronic equipment are present, and the ‘quality’ of the fog produced now is such that it can stay suspended in the atmosphere for anything up to an hour, depending on the situation, and leave no residue. Some systems can refill the room with fog in the event of intruders returning to the scene before the authorities arrive.

Although the fog quality from early machines, in terms of poor density and unwanted residue, was an issue, some modern systems have overcome these failings.

Speed of fog production has become of the essence. The faster the fog can be produced and ejected into the room, the quicker it can protect the contents. If fog production is too slow there is a chance that the system itself can be put out of action.

Slow fog production could also allow intruders to form a ‘daisy chain’ with four or five individuals creating a human chain with the leader filling his swag bag and being aided by others towards the exit.

Six metres in first two seconds

Most of today’s hi-tech systems for shops and offices can produce anything from 3 to 28 cubic metres of fog per second. The latest high speed systems can stop the intruder before they even manage to cross the threshold of their targeted room or premises. Some of these latest systems can propel a flume of fog a distance of six metres in the first two seconds and will fill a good sized room of, say, five metres by ten metres, with a height of 2.5 metres, in under five seconds.

The systems are proving a hit with installers and end users and are being used to actively protect jewellery, mobile phones, cigarettes, spirits, computers and golf pro shops, petrol station shops, car and motorcycle showrooms, banks and building societies all over Europe. Insurance companies advocate their use to dramatically reduce the size of losses claimed.