| The thief is only two steps away from the treasured box, when suddenly… The room instantly fills with thick smoke, everything disappears in it, including the goal that seemed so close. Now the villain no longer cares about the box. He needs to find a way out
Protective fog emitted by special devices can be very effective against burglars, and sometimes even against robbers who break into homes in the presence of the owners. For a security alarm system, a device emitting «security fog» is an actuator activated by alarm signals. And for the security industry, it is a type of equipment for which there is no single standard yet.
At one time, several countries developed their own standards for devices emitting «safety fog». These include France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. Some of these documents are based on the British standard BS7939:1999 «Safety fog devices — rules and regulations for the manufacture, installation and maintenance».
However, Paul Dardes, managing director of MSS Professional, a company that produces fog generators, and the inventor of the Smokecloak system, decided long ago that a pan-European standard should be created.
«A properly installed device must be integrated with the existing alarm system,— he explains. —The regulations that also cover the area of alarm systems, such as the EN 50131 standard, define different security classes and different degrees of system integration. Therefore, if you are going to integrate another technology with the alarm system, it must meet these requirements.».
«Since we rely on the security alarm system to turn on our fog generator, it is nonsense not to apply regulations to this generator. In addition, such regulations should provide for changes in the practice of using «security fog». An example of such a change is when we switch from using fog where there are no people, say, in premises taken under guard at night, to protection against bandit attacks during the daytime.»
Darts contacted the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), which in turn approached the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC). The committee was asked to look into the possibility of developing a new standard.
CENELEC is made up of the national electrotechnical committees of 28 European countries. A further eight national committees from Eastern European and Balkan countries have affiliated status.
In May 2005, Dardes gave a presentation at the CENELEC TC79 meeting in Stockholm, in which he argued for the need to form a working group to develop requirements for «security fog devices».
The committee decided to form such a working group, calling it WG10. It was tasked with developing a new section of EN50131 called «Intruder alarm systems — intrusion and robbery detection systems — part 8: security fog devices».
Invitations were sent to the national committees, who sent their experts to WG10. The work began and a standard was created. It defines the requirements for safety fog devices. In terms of equipment safety and environmental protection, the new standard is in line with existing standards referenced in EN50131. It also defines the design, performance and operating conditions of such devices, and specifies the tests and checks that must be carried out to prove their effectiveness and reliability.
At the end of 2008, the final version of the draft standard was sent to the national committees for approval. As a result, all 18 countries voted to adopt the standard, and no country rejected it. The automatic result of such a vote is that the standard is adopted by all countries — members of the committee.
«This is a wonderful result,» says Dardes. » Once people realize that such devices can stop not only thieves but also armed robbers, their implementation will be rapid. By early summer, the standard will be published and put into effect. It will be of great benefit to end users, manufacturers, and insurers.
The Security News editorial team did not immediately understand how the new standard would be useful for insurers. But then they guessed: they will charge more for insuring those objects that are not equipped with protective fogging devices.
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