Boston Sheriff Deploys New High-Tech Fire Extinguishers

Feb 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Boston's Suffolk County Sheriff's Department has installed more than 175 electronically monitored fire extinguishers in two of the Department's correctional facilities — the Suffolk County House of Correction at South Bay and the Suffolk County Jail on Nashua Street.

The extinguisher monitoring technology, en-Gauge, was developed and installed by Rockland, Mass.-based MIJA Inc.

“By installing the en-Gauge electronically monitored fire extinguishers, we are enhancing the life safety of our inmates, staff, volunteers, visitors and other prison-related personnel,” says Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral. “en-Gauge will ensure that our fire extinguishers are always where they should be and ready for use in the event of a fire emergency.”

The en-Gauge system allows the fire extinguishers to be tied into a stand-alone monitoring system located in Central Operations in both facilities. The technology monitors for three items:

• Presence — is the fire extinguisher in its appropriate location?

• Pressure — is the extinguisher fully pressurized and operational?

• Obstruction — is there anything blocking access to the fire extinguisher?

If any of these characteristics are out of order, the device immediately signals the security panel, alerting officials that there is a problem to address. More importantly, whenever someone removes an extinguisher from its cradle or cabinet or blocks an extinguisher, Central Operations is immediately alerted so they can quickly determine if there is a life safety event — such as a fire or theft — taking place.

“Already we are seeing the technology's positive impact,” says special sheriff and Suffolk County House of Correction superintendent Gerard Horgan, who stated that the technology recently alerted Central Command when a fire extinguisher was blocked.

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