Smoke Gets in Their Way

Sep 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Erin Semple

SLEDGEHAMMERS SMASH 12 bingo machines, causing the crowd to flee. As people run in fear, the burglars escape with around $5,000 in about three minutes.

The attack is typical for the Gala Group, which now uses 115 PROTECT Smoke Cannon security systems installed at various of its 167 bingo halls throughout England and Scotland, says Ray Stribley, regional security manager. After the systems were installed, the break-ins decreased from eight a month to one every two months.

The PROTECT Smoke Cannon system is just one of several on the market that use a smoke-like vapor to fill a room to cause robbers to become scared and run without taking anything. It is a technology that has taken away much of the appeal of break-in or “smash and grab” crimes.

“Now, three guys will walk in and when the ‘smoke’ goes off, they become shocked and leave without taking anything,” Stribley says. “We are pleased and impressed with the system.”

The Smoke Cannon security system from PROTECT Security Systems of America, Malibu, Calif., uses a glycol water mixture, pumps it over a super heat exchange and through a nozzle, and it vaporizes as it hits the air, creating a smoke-like vapor. The resulting dense fog can be ventilated within minutes and leaves no residue. Each system contains enough liquid mixture for up to seven activations. The harmless fog eliminates those first minutes of opportunity thieves need to steal valuables quickly.

Storeowners can customize the activation process based on their current security alarm set-up. Motion detectors, access-control devices or broken glass sensors can be integrated with the system. The deterrent “smoke” can also be activated by a small panic button carried by staff members, in case someone spots a robbery in progress. The system connects to a central monitoring station, which checks the temperature, the amount of fluid and how many times it goes off — and can switch to a back-up battery. The smallest unit will fill 1,500 sq. ft. in 12 seconds (completely in 20). The largest unit will fill 4,000 sq. ft. in the same amount of time. The product has no residue or smell.

The smallest model costs around $2,000, and the largest $4,000. The company offers installation, the opportunity to rent a system for 30 months, automatic rollover and three-year parts and labor warranty.

“Our systems are light, inexpensive, feature a warranty and use certified dealers and installers,” says Geof Petch, president and CEO of PROTECT Security Systems of America.

The third-generation system took three years to develop from the first version built by a plant manager at Martin Electric in Denmark. The system can be found in banks, pharmacies, stores selling high-end merchandise including electronics, shoes and computers, for fire training purposes and in federal buildings for crowd control.

SmokeCloak

A large rock breaks through a glass door and then through a glass case of guns. The thieves fill a bucket with $8,000 in handguns and leave in 30 seconds, says Ben Autrey, owner of Autrey's Armory Inc., Fayetteville, Ga.

After the first break-in, Autrey installed bars on the entrance and exit doors. Last December, a truck backed into the shop's front door, smashed the glass case of handguns and stole $8,000 in handguns in 30 seconds. Autrey then constructed a barricade around the front of the store. After two break-ins in March, Autrey installed a system that fills the shop with a smoke-like vapor in less than a minute. This system, SmokeCloak, from Martin Security, U.K., fills a space with a thick fog after being triggered by an alarm. It provides a way to scare thieves and blind them of a way out, allowing the police to have time to catch them. This system makes a hissing sound as it fills the room. When activated, canisters containing the glycol dispense a measured amount of vapor and can be used several times without being replenished. Based on theatrical “smoke,” the fluid is placed under pressure, causing it to boil violently in a short time. The glycol, a non-toxic food ingredient, leaves no residue on merchandise, and the fog takes 45 minutes to clear. The most popular model fills 300 cubic feet of vapor per second and measures 22.5 by 11.5 by 22.5 inches.

“It is a short event, about three or four seconds, before the thieves notice something's going on,” says Alfredo Arias, national marketing director for Arias Tech, Mississauga, Ontario, mass distributor for the product. “When the area begins to fill with ‘smoke,’ they realize there is a problem, and they get really scared. There is a wall of ‘smoke,’ and it's coming toward them. They don't want that ‘smoke’ to get between them and the point of break-in, so they leave the store empty-handed.”

Arias Tech distributes seven models ranging from $1,000 to $8,000, which includes the price to install. The average model is less than $3,000, and the most popular model sells for $3,500. The cost to protect 400 sq. ft. is $2,000 to 3,000 sq. ft. for $7,800.

Operating costs include $80 per year in fluid and electricity consumption comparable to a light bulb. The product looks like a computer and can be hidden in a false ceiling or painted to match décor of the building.

The system includes a battery back-up, a metal exterior to prevent decay, a larger heating block to withstand repeated activations in a row, the ability to detect when the fog level drops and to make more fog automatically, the ability to detect the level of fluid and report it to the alarm panel.

This is a seventh-generation machine. In 1981, Paul Dards owned an electronic store, which was broken into eight times in seven months. He built a prototype system that produced dense vapor in seconds. His system generated interest, and in 1992, he founded SmokeCloak Ltd.

This product has been sold to retail stores, schools, offices, government departments including control rooms, pumping stations and cell phone base stations.

Bandit America

A thief breaks in through the front door, and the system goes off immediately, filling the jewelry store with fog. The thief does not get past the front door and is able to grab only a handful of watches, worth about $2,000. Because he is right near the front door when the system goes off, he is able to escape, says Rob Chase, owner of Gold and Time, Petaluma, Calif.

“The first time I got hit, I did not have the system, and the thief took $80,000 in jewelry,” says Chase, who uses the Bandit system by Bandit America Inc., La Habra, Calif. “It was that theft that caused me to look around for a new solution. I was told about Bandit, which I had heard about before. I saved about $78,000, and there was less damage compared to the first time someone tried to break in.“

The store is 1,150 sq. ft. and fills with a smoke-like vapor within three seconds. “Unfortunately, alarms and video do not have the same effect as they used to in intimidating thieves, so I knew I needed something more,” Chase says. “The product was demonstrated for me, and I could easily see how it would protect my store and investment. When Bandit goes off, it fills the store in a matter of seconds, and thieves get scared and want to get away. The ‘smoke’ takes them completely by surprise.”

The Bandit system ejects a dense white fog at a rate of about 1,000 ft. per second, within half a second of receiving an activation command. The system has only one moving part — a solenoid valve — and is a designed fog generator with low power consumption. It produces a powerful fog ejection rate using only 40W power when “on guard” mode and 0.8KVA when “heating.” The droplets from the fog are a “particle-aerosol vapor” that causes a “rain effect” condensation process to take place immediately after ejection, thus ensuring that the fog takes longer to dissipate. The Bandit system uses a chemical reacting energy that combines the liquid with propellant gas. It is controlled by a built-in “micro-processor” and can be remotely configured and maintained.

The Bandit fluid is a combination of glycol, industrial alcohol and water. It has a “minty” smell so that anyone would realize quickly it is not smoke from a fire. The Bandit fluid is kept in an oxygen-free pressurized environment, which is pH-stabilized, de-ionized, clean-filled and hermetically sealed. There is no degradation of the unit's capability or contents over time. The Bandit system can be replenished with fog fluid in just a few minutes.

The propellant gas also helps to refine the particle size of the fog when it is ejected, which in turn slows the dissipation of the ejected fog. The HY-3 liquid section of the Bandit system contains glycol and water and the RS-125 propellant, which are held in two separate hermetically sealed canisters so that the liquid never degrades over time. The Bandit system's Hy-3 liquid pack is a cartridge-style design, so that it can be changed in less than five minutes.

The system was developed by a European engineer Alfons Vandoninck and built specifically for asset protection applications. Bandit is sold to consumers for around $3,000 to $3,500, which includes basic accessories such as sensors, keypads and installation.

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ABOUT THE COMPANIES

For information, circle the Reader Service number (listed below) or visit securitysolutions.com

Bandit America Inc.	50
Martin Security	51
PROTECT Security Systems of America	52
SmokeCloak	53

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