Changing a Battery in a Smoke Alarm

by Building ManagementBuilding ManagementConstructionFire DetectionFire DetectionFirefighting EquipmentFirefighting Equipment

Smoke alarms are essential life-saving devices that warn us of fire, but they can only do their job if they have power. 

You are around 8 times more likely to die in a fire if you do not have a working smoke alarm. 

Many fatal home fires occur in houses that had smoke alarms installed but the alarms failed to go off, often due to missing or dead batteries. 

But how does changing a battery in a smoke alarm work?

Whether your smoke alarm is a standalone battery-powered unit or a mains-wired alarm with a backup battery, checking and changing the battery regularly is critical. 

This ensures the alarm will function when it’s needed most..

How to Change a Battery in a Smoke Alarm?

how to change a battery in a smoke alarm

Changing the battery in a smoke alarm is a straightforward task, but it’s important to do it correctly for the alarm to work. 

If you have a battery-powered smoke detector, the process involves opening the device, swapping the old battery for a new one. 

Here is a simple step-by-step guide for typical battery replacement:

Open the Alarm Cover

Most alarms either have a cover that twists or lifts off. 

Gently remove or twist the cover or the body of the alarm to expose the battery compartment. 

Remove the Old Battery

Unclip or slide out the old battery from its holder. 

It may be connected by a snap-on connector or simply held in a slot. 

Take note of how it was oriented.

Insert the New Battery

Put the new battery in the same way the old one was. 

Match the + and – terminals correctly so the markings on the battery align with those on the alarm’s battery contacts. 

Push the new battery firmly into place or reconnect the snap-on connector if there is one. 

Use the type of battery recommended by the alarm manufacturer.

Close the Alarm

Fit the cover or alarm unit back into place and make sure it clicks or twists closed securely. 

Finally, press and hold the test button on the smoke alarm until the alarm sounds a loud beep. 

This confirms that the new battery is working and the alarm is functioning.

What Types of Batteries are in Smoke Alarms?

what types of batteries in smoke alarm

Smoke alarms can use a few different types of batteries, and it’s important to use the right kind. 

9-Volt / AA

Most standard smoke alarms use either a 9-volt battery or AA batteries as their power source. 

Traditionally, many alarms took a single rectangular 9V battery (often called a PP3 battery). 

In newer models, it’s common to find replaceable AA batteries (usually 2 or 3 AA cells) instead of a 9V. 

These AA batteries together provide the required power and often have a higher combined capacity, meaning they can keep the alarm running longer.

Always check your alarm’s manual or look at the existing battery to know what type to use as a replacement. 

Long Life Lithium

There are also long-life lithium batteries available for smoke alarms. 

Some modern alarms come with 10-year sealed lithium batteries built in. 

These batteries are not removable; instead, the entire alarm is designed to operate for ten years on that sealed battery, after which you replace the whole alarm unit. 

Ten-year sealed battery alarms are popular because you don’t have to change the battery every year.

They give continuous power for the life of the alarm, and then you dispose of the unit once the battery is exhausted.

Mains

For mains-powered smoke alarms, the primary power comes from your house’s electrical supply, but they almost always have a backup battery. 

This backup is usually a 9V battery or sometimes a couple of AA batteries, depending on the model. 

The backup battery is there to ensure the alarm will still work if there’s a power cut. 

Mains-powered alarms still need their batteries replaced periodically, just like battery-only alarms. 

The difference is that a mains-wired unit will draw its daily power from the mains electricity.

However, if that backup battery is dead or missing, the alarm won’t sound. 

So keep the backup battery fresh.

Coin Cell

Occasionally, some compact smoke detectors use other battery types like built-in coin cell batteries or special long-life batteries. 

For example, a few small-form smoke alarms might use a lithium coin cell or a specialised lithium pack. 

These are less common, but the key point is to always use the exact type of battery recommended by the alarm’s manufacturer. 

Using an incorrect battery type (for instance, the wrong voltage or chemistry) could either prevent the alarm from working or cause it to underperform.

What to Avoid When Changing a Battery in a Smoke Alarm?

While changing a smoke alarm battery is simple, there are some important things to avoid to ensure your alarm remains effective and safe:

Not Replacing Battery

Do NOT leave the alarm without a battery. 

One of the biggest mistakes is removing the old battery and then forgetting to insert a new one immediately. 

Even leaving a smoke alarm without a battery for a short time is risky.

You might get distracted and not return to it. 

Always have a new battery on hand before you take the old one out. 

If an alarm is beeping in the middle of the night due to low battery, resist the temptation to just take the battery out to silence it and then go back to sleep. 

Unfortunately, some people do this and then neglect to put a new battery in later, leaving them unprotected. 

Never disable or remove the battery to quiet a ‘nuisance alarm’, instead fan out the smoke or use a hush button if your alarm has one. 

An alarm with no power won’t save your life in an emergency.

Wrong Battery Type

Avoid using the wrong type or a poor-quality battery. 

Smoke alarms are designed to use a specific battery type. 

Don’t try to fit a physically incompatible battery or one with incorrect voltage. 

For instance, do not try to power a 9V-only alarm with some makeshift combination of other batteries. 

Also, it’s best to use good quality batteries from reputable brands for smoke detectors. 

Cheap or old batteries may not last as long or could leak. 

Follow any guidance in your alarm’s manual about which batteries are recommended. 

Using the exact type (alkaline vs lithium, etc.) that’s advised will ensure the alarm functions correctly. 

If your alarm uses multiple cells (like 2×AA), always replace all of them at the same time with new batteries from the same pack.

Never mix old and new batteries together in the alarm, as this can cause leakage or reduced performance.

Recharge Batteries

Do not use rechargeable batteries in smoke alarms (unless the manufacturer specifically allows it). 

Rechargeable batteries are generally not recommended for smoke alarms. 

This is because rechargeables (like NiMH 9V or NiMH AA cells) have a slightly lower voltage and they self-discharge over time. 

They can run down much faster than normal alkaline batteries, even if you don’t use the alarm often. 

For example, some rechargeable 9V batteries might lose their charge in a matter of weeks or a couple of months, which is not reliable for a device that needs to work 24/7. 

Most smoke alarm manufacturers and fire safety experts advise against using rechargeable cells, as they may not meet the required backup time and reliability standards for an alarm. 

Stick to standard alkaline or lithium batteries as recommended.

Damage

Avoid damaging the alarm or its parts during battery replacement. 

When opening the alarm and handling the battery, be careful. 

Do not force the battery in or bend the contacts excessively.. 

If you accidentally pull a wire or break the battery clip, the alarm could malfunction. 

In such cases it would be better to replace the entire alarm. 

So take your time and handle everything gently. 

If the battery has a little plastic ribbon or tab designed to help pop it out, use that to remove it rather than prying roughly with tools.

When to Change a Battery in a Smoke Alarm?

when to change a battery in a smoke alarm

Knowing when to replace your smoke alarm’s battery is just as important as knowing how. 

Batteries don’t last forever, and a smoke alarm will give you warnings when its battery is weak, but you shouldn’t rely solely on the alarm’s chirp. 

Here are the key guidelines on when to change the battery:

At Least Once Every Year

For typical smoke alarms with replaceable batteries, the standard recommendation is to replace the battery annually. 

Many fire services advise changing the battery every 12 months, even if the alarm hasn’t started chirping yet. 

This pre-emptive change ensures the alarm will not run low at an inconvenient or dangerous time. 

Choosing a date you’ll remember, like your birthday or New Year’s Day, is a good way to make it part of your yearly routine. 

If your alarm uses standard alkaline batteries, they are inexpensive, and it’s worth the small cost for peace of mind.

Low Battery Warning

Your alarm will alert you when its battery is getting weak by emitting a regular ‘beep’ or ‘chirp’ sound. 

When you hear this, replace the battery immediately. 

The alarm is telling you it doesn’t have much power left. 

Don’t ignore it. 

Once chirping starts, install a fresh battery right away. 

This should stop the beeping and restore full function. 

If the alarm continues to chirp after a battery change, it could indicate a different issue, such as a fault in the alarm or that the unit is at the end of its life.

If it Fails a Test

You should be testing your smoke alarms regularly. 

If you press the test button and it doesn’t sound, it could mean the battery is dead. 

First, check if the battery is properly fitted. 

If the alarm still doesn’t sound, try a fresh battery. 

If that doesn’t solve the issue, the alarm itself may be faulty or too old and should be replaced.

Key Takeaways

You should now have an understanding of changing a battery in a smoke alarm.

Maintaining your smoke alarm’s battery is a small chore that carries a huge reward.

it could save your life and the lives of your loved ones. 

Many fire fatalities happen in homes where smoke alarms were present but had failed, often due to flat or missing batteries. 

This is a tragic statistic because it’s preventable with simple maintenance.

The bottom line is that a few minutes of simple maintenance can provide around-the-clock protection. 

Keep your smoke alarms powered, tested, and in good shape.

This way, if a fire ever breaks out, the alarm will reliably give you that urgent warning to get out safely. 

Stay safe!

Wildfire smoke in Europe linked to higher short-term mortality, study finds

by Featured NewsHealth and SafetyResearchWildland Fire

Research highlights mortality risks from wildfire smoke

The Lancet – Planetary Health has published a study showing that wildfire smoke increases short-term mortality across Europe, with respiratory deaths most affected.

The study analysed daily mortality records from 654 regions across 32 countries between 2004 and 2022, covering a population of 541 million people.

Researchers found that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke carried greater health risks than PM2.5 from other sources.

Relative risks for cardiovascular and respiratory deaths were higher when linked specifically to wildfire smoke, with respiratory mortality showing the strongest association.

The authors concluded that previous studies underestimated the health burden of wildfire smoke when treating it as equivalent to other types of particulate pollution.

Methodology and dataset explained

The study used the EARLY-ADAPT database to obtain mortality records alongside PM2.5 exposure estimates from the SILAM atmospheric model.

The dataset included more than 95 million daily all-cause deaths, nearly 20 million cardiovascular deaths, and almost 4 million respiratory deaths recorded during the study period.

Associations were calculated using quasi-Poisson regression, assessing the impact of incremental increases in wildfire-related PM2.5.

The researchers noted that fire-related PM2.5 exposure led to stronger mortality associations compared with non-fire sources of PM2.5.

The analysis indicated that using general PM2.5 measures underestimated deaths from wildfire smoke by as much as 93 per cent.

Findings on mortality associations

The study reported that pooled results showed a relative risk of 1.007 for all-cause mortality, 1.009 for cardiovascular mortality, and 1.013 for respiratory mortality per 1 μg/m³ increase in wildfire PM2.5.

The team found that respiratory mortality was particularly sensitive to wildfire-related particles compared with other causes.

Comparisons with previous studies showed similar patterns in France, Italy and Romania, where risk estimates aligned with global datasets.

The researchers suggested that higher toxicity, oxidative potential, and exposure intensity during wildfire events could explain the stronger associations.

Wildfire smoke exposure was described as distinct from background pollution, with periods of very high exposure followed by little to none, unlike continuous urban air pollution.

Climate change and wildfire exposure

The analysis explained that climate change is a key driver of wildfire frequency and intensity across Europe.

Estimates suggest burned areas in Europe could rise by 200 per cent this century if no adaptation measures are introduced.

Even moderate climate change scenarios predict major increases in catastrophic fire risk in southern Europe, with central and northern Europe also becoming more vulnerable during droughts.

Human activity was identified as the cause of 96 per cent of wildfire ignitions in Europe, but weather, vegetation and topography determined fire spread.

The researchers linked climate change, wildfire spread, and smoke exposure in a feedback loop, with each element amplifying the others.

Regional variations in effects

The study indicated that health impacts varied across European regions.

For Portugal and Spain, associations between wildfire smoke and mortality were weaker or imprecise, which researchers said might reflect fire management strategies or adaptation efforts.

Rural populations were reported to be more heavily exposed than urban populations because of their proximity to wildfire sources.

The analysis found that mortality risks were consistent even when accounting for additional pollutants such as ozone.

However, it noted that disentangling the independent effects of wildfire smoke and ozone remains an area requiring further research.

Strengths and limitations of the study

The researchers highlighted that the multicountry dataset provided comprehensive coverage across urban and rural populations.

The SILAM model allowed the team to distinguish wildfire-related PM2.5 from other sources, supporting direct comparison between exposure types.

Limitations included reduced statistical power in estimating risks by age or sex, as fire-related PM2.5 exposure was less variable than general pollution.

Mortality data availability differed by country, which limited subnational analysis in certain areas.

The study added that exposure misclassification could not be fully ruled out and may have led to underestimates of health effects.

Relevance for fire and safety professionals

The findings demonstrate the direct public health burden linked to wildfire smoke exposure across Europe.

Fire and safety professionals may need to factor air quality impacts into wildfire risk management and community protection strategies.

Emergency planning, firefighter safety, and post-fire recovery measures can benefit from understanding the mortality risks linked to smoke exposure.

The research also reinforces the importance of considering climate change as a driver of future wildfire hazards in Europe.

Wildfire smoke in Europe linked to higher short-term mortality, study finds: Summary

The Lancet – Planetary Health reported that wildfire smoke is linked to increased short-term mortality in Europe.

The study used data from 654 regions in 32 countries, covering 541 million people.

Researchers found that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke had higher relative risks for mortality than PM2.5 from other sources.

Respiratory deaths showed the strongest association with wildfire smoke exposure.

All-cause mortality risk increased by 0.7 per cent per 1 μg/m³ increase in fire-related PM2.5.

Cardiovascular mortality risk increased by 0.9 per cent under the same conditions.

Respiratory mortality risk increased by 1.3 per cent for the same increment.

Using total PM2.5 underestimated wildfire-related deaths by 93 per cent.

The analysis covered daily mortality records from 2004 to 2022.

The SILAM atmospheric model was used to estimate PM2.5 sources and levels.

Rural populations were more heavily exposed than urban populations.

Regional variations were observed, with weaker associations in Portugal and Spain.

The researchers linked climate change to increased wildfire risk in Europe.

They said wildfires in Europe are 96 per cent human-caused in origin.

They noted climate change amplifies wildfire size, duration and spread.

The dataset included more than 95 million daily all-cause deaths.

It also recorded nearly 20 million cardiovascular and 4 million respiratory deaths.

The research indicated stronger effects for respiratory outcomes compared with other mortality causes.

The authors said estimates of wildfire smoke health burdens should be based on fire-specific data.

Wildfire emissions surge across Canada and Europe in 2025

by

Record emissions from Canadian wildfires monitored by CAMS

Wildfire emissions in Canada have remained well above the long-term average throughout June and July 2025, according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).

CAMS reported that wildfire intensity and emissions across Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario have surpassed previous records in its 23-year dataset.

The organisation said emissions from these three provinces contributed to Canada’s cumulative wildfire carbon total of approximately 180 megatonnes as of the end of July.

CAMS said the scale and duration of the Canadian wildfire season has been unusual, with smoke transported long distances, reaching western, central and eastern Europe.

According to CAMS, British Columbia and Alberta recorded emissions significantly below average in July, while Northwest Territories produced slightly above-average emissions of around 18 megatonnes.

Southern US states and Alaska experience varying fire trends

Wildfires in southern US states also contributed to regional atmospheric impacts in July, CAMS data showed.

The Madre fire, which broke out in California on 2 July, was described by CAMS as the largest in the state in 2025, having burned 80,779 acres.

In Arizona, wildfire carbon emissions for July reached just under 1.5 megatonnes, which CAMS said was the highest total on record for the state for that month.

New Mexico’s wildfire emissions for July were the third highest recorded, behind only 2011 and 2003, CAMS noted.

Utah recorded emissions slightly above those seen in July 2024, at just over 0.8 megatonnes.

In Alaska, wildfires affected local air quality, although CAMS reported that emissions remained near the historical average at around 5.6 megatonnes.

Mediterranean wildfires break national records for emissions

In southern Europe, wildfires in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus during June and July led to several national emission records, according to CAMS.

Fires on the Greek island of Chios began on 22 June, contributing to the country’s highest June emissions since 2007.

In Turkey, emissions for June were the highest in CAMS records, with wildfires continuing into July and resulting in the highest cumulative emissions ever recorded in the country.

At least 10 forest workers were killed in Turkey during the second half of July. Two fatalities were reported in Cyprus, where wildfires led to record emissions after just two days of burning.

Joe McNorton, fire forecasting scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), said:

“Probabilistic fire forecasts with the ECMWF SPARKY model have highlighted that the wildfires around the Mediterranean this summer have been the result of an abundance of fuel and severe weather conditions.

“Much drier conditions [are] driving the intensity of the fires.”

Wildfires expand across Balkans and southwestern Europe

CAMS reported increased wildfire activity in the Balkans, with Serbia and Albania each recording their second-highest emissions totals on record for July.

According to CAMS data, Serbia’s emissions were just over 0.05 megatonnes and Albania’s were around 0.07 megatonnes.

Emissions in Montenegro and North Macedonia were the third highest recorded for July in CAMS’ data.

In southwestern Europe, wildfires ignited in early July across southern France, Catalonia and Portugal.

CAMS noted that wildfires near Marseille resulted in evacuations, and similar action was taken in Catalonia, where fires were driven by hot, dry winds.

The wildfire situation continued into late July in Spain and Portugal, with firefighters working to control large-scale burns in northern Portugal and central Spain.

Wildfires in northern Scotland raise UK annual emissions

Northern Scotland experienced widespread wildfire activity at the end of June and start of July 2025, CAMS confirmed.

Fire Radiative Power (FRP) data from CAMS showed a sharp increase on 28, 29 and 30 June.

As a result, CAMS reported that the United Kingdom’s cumulative wildfire carbon emissions for 2025 reached their highest annual total in 23 years of records.

The fires in Scotland added to broader regional impacts from wildfire smoke across the North Atlantic, tracked through aerosol optical depth modelling by CAMS and the ECMWF.

CAMS said it continues to monitor global wildfire activity and its effect on air quality and atmospheric conditions.

Wildfire emissions surge across Canada and Europe in 2025: Summary

Wildfires in Canada have produced around 180 megatonnes of carbon emissions by the end of July 2025.

Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario reported their highest emissions on record.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires was transported across the Atlantic and reached multiple parts of Europe.

British Columbia, Alberta and Northwest Territories experienced lower emissions than in previous years.

In the US, Arizona and New Mexico recorded some of their highest ever emissions for July.

Wildfires in California burned more than 80,000 acres during the month.

Southern Europe reported record emissions in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

At least 12 people died as a result of wildfires in Turkey and Cyprus.

Wildfire emissions in Serbia and Albania were the second highest on record.

Fires in France, Spain and Portugal led to evacuations and continued into late July.

Wildfires in northern Scotland raised UK’s annual emissions to a record high in CAMS data.

New compact smoke control panels from WindowMaster

by Featured News

The compact smoke panel is designed to improve comfort

Danish CleanTech company, WindowMaster, has announced the launch of its new compact smoke control panel, WSC 104, as a latest addition to its range of innovative smoke and heat ventilation solutions. The new panel combines smoke extraction with comfort ventilation, providing fresh air to enter the interior while evacuating toxic smoke and gases in case of a potential fire.

WSC 104 is an upgrade to WindowMaster’s current model, WSC 204, and will be officially launched at BAU 2023 in Munich. The control panel can connect to either ±24V DC standard motors or motors with WindowMaster’s MotorLink® technology, delivering optimal smoke ventilation that preserves and protects. It is designed to help support compliance and automate the process of evacuating occupants in the event of an emergency.

According to Erik Boyter, CEO of WindowMaster, the launch of WSC 104 is the result of combining several relevant and requested functions with new modern technology, and leaves out the need for additional modules.

“Our clients are constantly having to adapt to evolving building safety regulations, so it’s vital we are adapting and improving our product base to dovetail and align our offering with their needs,” said Boyter

“The design process of any product provides challenges, but we’ve been able to combine several relevant and requested functions with new, modern technology. The result is one product that leaves out the need for additional modules. BAU 2023 presents a fantastic opportunity to introduce WSC 104 to our Europe-wide audience, demonstrating how it’s possible to achieve safety and sustainability simultaneously.”

The compact and user-friendly control panel is suitable for smaller interiors and other parts of a building, and has 3-wire multifunction technology that can be easily integrated into any existing cable network when retrofitting former systems.

WindowMaster’s WSC 104 will be available in the second quarter of 2023, offering an innovative solution for commercial interiors to meet evolving building safety regulations and achieve safety and sustainability simultaneously.

Exclusive: Seeing through the smokescreen with Emberion

by Featured NewsFire DetectionProducts
Can Short Wavelength Infrared cameras benefit the Fire & Safety industry? Dr Samiul Haque, Senior Product Manager at Emberion investigates

The fire industry is continuously tackling challenging situations where adverse conditions can affect rescue operations. Smoke from the fire is a major disruption during a rescue operation and a camera that can see through smoke would provide a fundamental advantage in solving some of the key challenges.

Cameras that operate in the visible spectral range cannot penetrate through smoke. This is due to wavelength across 400-700nm (nanometres) being absorbed rather than reflected back. On the other hand, short wavelength infrared wavelength can penetrate through smoke particles and so with short wave infrared (SWIR) imaging one can easily see through smoke particles in the air.

Infrared camera developer Emberion has created a camera based on nanostructured materials which allows it to capture an image from visible range 400nm to extended SWIR range up to 2000nm using colloidal quantum dot materials which are semiconductor crystals (<20nm) that can be integrated on a single CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) readout chip. The readout chip allows the photons impinging on the surface of the sensor which subsequently generates electrons to be read out.

Emberion designs the readout circuits and the image pipeline user interface and ultimately a camera that can be deployed. We produce high performance visible to short wavelength (VIS-SWIR) infrared cameras based on its unique nanomaterials-based sensor solution and custom CMOS read out integrated circuit. We have also already enabled various applications in machine vision, surveillance, pharmaceutical, agriculture, multispectral imaging where both visible and infrared cameras are utilised.

Outdoor imaging

A challenging area for outdoor imaging is bad weather conditions for example when there is smoke, haze, or fog in the air. This can be address by SWIR imaging cameras. The incumbent technologies have been expensive due to the complexity of the fabrication procedures undertaken, for example the hybridisation semiconductor bonding processes of Indium Galium Arsenide (InGaAs). InGaAs-based sensors require complex wafer to wafer bonding processes and the yield of this process as you increase the resolution becomes more challenging as it requires the alignment of millions of micro-solder bumps to form micro-connections to a readout integrated circuit.

In comparison to the InGaAs processes, Emberion utilises scalable monolithic integration process which mainly consists of industry standard spin-coating, evaporation or sputter coating techniques making it a viable, highly scalable process in terms of manufacturability.

The camera can be utilised to see through smoke in outdoor conditions. During a test, the images captured by the Emberion VS20 camera clearly gave a clearer picture when taken through smoke than those shot with standard CMOS camera, such as those people have on mobile devices.

As the camera can capture from 400-2000nm and the visible range is from 400nm-700nm which needs to be cut-off to allow only the SWIR wavelength to be detected as the smoke particles let through the SWIR wavelength. Due to this, the image captured with Emberion VS20 SWIR camera with a 1000nm band pass filter in front of the lens of the shortwave infrared camera to filter the visible light out as it is the key precondition to see through smoke when looking at the images. The comparison images clearly illustrated the difference in the scene using CMOS camera and Emberion VS20 camera which allows imaging through the heavy smoke generated from the campfire.

In a similar application, we generated chemical or party smoke to demonstrate the capability of such cameras. It was observed that the SWIR images clearly see through the chemical smoke which was impossible to see through with the naked eye.

The future of SWIR

Emberion offers a dense roadmap where higher spectral resolution, mega-pixel densities and frame rates up to 400 frames per second(fps) will be released over the near term.

Soon we will start to offer high speed 400fps cameras for optical sorting and other markets. Additionally, the technical team are developing an ultra-broadband solution that will cover from Vis-SWIR-MWIR for simultaneous imaging in order to enable broadband surveillance and hyperspectral imaging. It has major benefits including:

  • A Wide spectral range from Visible to Extended SWIR up to 2000nm with a tuneable peak
  • A High Dynamic Range which offers better contrast and detection of bright and dark objects at the same time
  • Up to 400 frames per second GigE compatibility (Full VGA) allowing the possibility of detection of objects in high-speed conveyor belts e.g. in optical sorting of food and waste recycling
  • Monolithic integration for ease of manufacturing and scale up of manufacturing processes
  • High-performance sensor, low noise with novel quantum dot material solution providing affordable e cameras compared to incumbent technologies

Emberion’s current product VS20 camera VGA resolution camera enables various applications in the machine vision industry, surveillance, safety and security, defence, optical sorting, semiconductor imaging, medical, automotive, laser beam profiling. Particular examples include water peak detection at 1920nm which has the maximum contrast levels, and PVC detection beyond 1700nm in waste recycling with our cameras due to the extended range of our sensors.

The sensors have high pixel operability greater than 99.98% and HDR up to 120dB. The images with our cameras enable detection of both bright and dark objects and allows for multispectral imaging and enabling hyperspectral solutions making it a key enabler for security, safety and fire industry.

Seeing through smoke or harsh conditions would provide added advantage in surveillance and fire safety applications as it can assist with early detection and assessment of the scene due. It can help fire safety professionals in heavy smoke environments to check for trapped individuals or objects through glass windows or in a rescue operation using SWIR cameras. These cameras have a wide range of use and the form factor can vary allowing fire safety professionals to use them as handheld units or the smaller size cameras as detachable body gear units for flexibility in operation.

This article was originally published in the September edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

New ‘escape hoods’ for fire victims to be deployed by WMFS

by Products

New ‘fire escape hoods’, designed to protect fire victims from smoke and fumes, are set to be carried on all West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) emergency response vehicles.

The service’s 41 fire engines, 19 Brigade Response Vehicles and a specialist breathing apparatus support unit will be equipped with the hoods from today (7 September 2020).

Station Commander Richard Moore, of WMFS’s Response Team, said: “We aim to get to serious incidents in five minutes, because we know this increases your chances of survival.  
 
“Our new fire escape hoods will provide vital extra protection to people who are unlucky enough to be caught in a fire and who need rescuing or leading to safety by our crews.” 
 
Over the last five years, approaching 700 people were rescued or led to safety by West Midlands firefighters. Many subsequently needed treating with oxygen or taking to hospital after breathing in smoke. It is hoped that the hoods will mean far fewer people need treating for the effects of smoke.  
 
Station Commander Moore added: “The smoke produced by fires contains a lot of harmful toxins. The hoods are designed to filter them out and stop you from breathing them in. 
   
“Now, depending on the particular circumstances and conditions at a fire, our firefighters might ask you to wear one of the hoods so you can pass more safely through a smoke-filled environment. 

“They’ll only ever ask you to wear one for your own safety. They’ll need you to take off a head covering if you wear one, so the hood can fit and work as effectively as possible.

“With your agreement, they’ll help you to put it over your head, check it’s properly fitted and sealed and that you can see, breathe and talk as usual, before getting you to safety.”

The self-contained fire escape hoods, which are fitted with air filters, allow the wearer to breathe safely in a smoke-filled atmosphere for up to 15 minutes.

A recommendation from Phase I of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire required all fire and rescue services to have fire escape hoods for evacuating people through smoke-filled routes.

After conducting a number of trials, West Midlands Fire Service has chosen to carry Dräger PARAT 5550 Fire Escape Hoods on its fire engines, 4×4 Brigade Response Vehicles and its specialist Breathing Apparatus Incident Support Unit (BAISU).

www.wmfs.net/