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When all has been done to deter a criminal with alarms and physical locking systems, if the end reward is still too tempting then the inevitable breach of these security systems is likely. What do we do then?
The next step, is to physically stop the burglary taking place by using extreme levels of sound, and an instant smoke / fogging system.
Sound
Many of our customers choose to add a Master Blaster to their alarm setup, offering 127 decibels of ear piercing sound to keep the criminals time in the building to an absolute minimum. The sound emitted is louder that a regular Ambulance Siren, and slightly less than a Jet Engine, so imagine that noise in your living room, and you can relate to how an intruder is going to feel whilst they still try to focus on the task at hand. These devices have an increased power draw, and placement will require careful planning during the alarm design process. Every step will be taken to ensure false alarms are kept to a minimum, as these devices can be quite disruptive.
Smoke Cloak / Fogger Devices
The most effective and proven solution for stopping a theft in progress is by quickly distributing smoke throughout the area, reducing visibility to between 30 – 50cm, which is similar to not being able to see anything past your elbow. It’s virtually like closing your eyes, as the smoke makes everything a lot darker, and you feel completely disorientated. Regardless of how well you know the environment, after a few steps you can’t tell what direction you’re facing, and objects won’t present themselves until after you’ve walked into them.
We aim to completely saturate every area of a room or designated space within 15 – 30 seconds, but in real world test, visibility will begin to disappear within 5 seconds on a correctly designed system.
In spaces that have the potential to be occupied by the public (e.g. Jewellery Stores that are raided during opening hours), we implement speakers to communicate specific actions to customers. There are also smoke extractions systems for quickly removing the smoke after an activation event.
We are aware of installations that also include high powered strobe devices. These heighten the disorientation effect of the smoke by flashing bright surges of light, these pulses of around 100 strobes per second, cause severe discomfort as the intruder can’t get away from the intense light as it refracts all around them, in every direction they face. Rossells do not recommend the use of strobes, as it can induce epileptic seizures.
Smoke and Sound
The perfect combination is to introduce the smoke and sound together, to offer a hostile environment for criminals to attempt to continue their activity. We’ve had fantastic success protecting stock and assets by the use of these methods, and all of our installations comply with the necessary British Standards to ensure compliance for insurance and regulatory bodies.
If you have any questions or are interested in understanding more about these methods of stopping a burglary in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us.
UPDATE: Due to popularity of this blog, and the amount of emails we’ve received, we’ve added some commonly asked questions below to hopefully help with any immediate queries.
Does the smoke leave a residue behind after an activation?
When correctly installed, there is no residue left behind.
How long does the smoke take to clear?
Once a window or door is opened to create ventilation throughout the room, it can take up to 30 minutes for the smoke to clear depending on the density deployed.
How much power does the smoke system use?
Our engineers have measured an average of 30 – 60 watts per device depending on the size of the unit / room. This is the equivalent of a small pond pump.
Will my neighbours complain about the noise from the Master Blaster?
Clever system design will ensure the sounder will only be activated during an actual break in, and every length must be made to ensure false alarm are kept to a minimum. With this in mind, neighbours will hopefully only get to hear it for a short period during our maintenance visit.