jmcmahon's blog

A 2009 survey by the Joint Commission an independent, non-profit organization that accredits health care organizations found that the number one challenge indicated in maintaining the environment of care was fire safety equipment maintenance.

Among the Joint Commission's requirements is the monthly physical maintenance and inspection of fire equipment. Monthly physical inspections can be costly, especially in time and labor required.

The good news is that like the NFPA and the ICC, the Joint Commission now recognizes en-Gauge's technology as an equivalent to the manual 30-day fire extinguisher inspections. Health care facilities that adopt en-Gauge can reduce risk, stay code compliant and potentially reduce the cost of extinguisher ownership by some 60% over 12 years.

Read the full release for details.

After a "suspicious" passenger left the lavatory of the plane, an alert flight attendant noticed a fire extinguisher was out of place and notified the pilots. The plane was diverted as a safety measure.

Fire extinguishers have been used as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) so this flight attendant was wise to call attention to it.

One way to immediately know if your extinguishers have been removed, depressurized or blocked is to monitor them with en-Gauge.

One of the early adopters of en-Gauge electronically monitored fire extinguishers, the University of Utah Salt Lake City has added a new twist to its safety monitoring.

The University is now using the en-Gauge sensor monitoring platform to keep track of 18 of its automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in large occupancy buildings across the campus.

We appreciate and applaud the University of Utah, especially Mike Halligan for being a leader in offering the latest in campus safety technologies to its students, visitors and faculty.

How sad is this? Just days before school is supposed to start vandals strike the same school twice in two days. This follows vandalism at another school in the district that resulted in $50,000 in damage.

Of course, fire extinguishers were used in each case. The school is now installing cameras. Another good option would be en-Gauge electronically monitored fire extinguishers. When done, security and law enforcement officials could be immediately notified when an extinguisher was removed -- perhaps allowing for the vandals to be caught in the act.

Electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers and annual safety inspections make schools safer.

They tipped over furniture, dumped paint, shattered glass and of course, discharged fire extinguishers. What a costly mess these vandals created and just before the doors open for school.

School vandalism is a huge problem that costs tens of thousands of dollars annually and catching the bad guys in the act happens infrequently at best.

Electronically monitored fire extinguishers immediately notify officials when one is removed. Faster notification means less damage, less cost and perhaps catching the vandals in the act.

This latest incident of extinguisher theft brings the total to 20 stolen/missing fire extinguishers in the Town of Dickinson, ND.

A couple have been found discharged and strewn about town, but those that need to be replaced -- will cost $100 each.

The vandals in this case have yet to be caught.

There is an option to help prevent further vandalism -- electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers deters vandalism because the instant notification of removal means that authorities can respond quickly -- perhaps catching the bad guys in the act.

Electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers and annual inspections make schools safer.

en-Gauge sends its sincerest congratulations to all of the winners and nominees of the 2010 MITX Technology Awards. It's a great honor for en-Gauge to be a member of the MA and New England Technology Community. We wish everyone much continued success.

Security cameras caught several middle school students wreaking havoc inside the school with fire extinguishers.

The end result -- $10,000 in damage.

Extinguisher vandalism in schools happens all the time (just read the other blog posts here) -- costing thousands of dollars in damage, lost productivity and school-day interruption.

Electronic monitoring of extinguishers has proven to reduce vandalism and theft.