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.

Fire codes require monthly inspections for a reason -- extinguishers frequently go missing, lose pressure or get obstructed. If any of those situations occur and it is not rectified -- a dangerous situation could be at hand.

Messing around with inspection records is bad enough, but the real crime is that the required monthly inspections are not being done. That puts lives and property at stake.

Electronic monitoring with en-Gauge eliminates the need for monthly inspections and creates records to show compliance with fire codes.

"I'm angry, I'm angry, I'm angry," said Quincy House Allston Burr Resident Dean Judith F. Chapman. "It's so destructive to the community. Maybe it was ignorance. Now everyone who reads The Crimson will know: Don't play with the fire extinguisher."

Readers of this blog know that vandalism of fire extinguishers on college and university campuses is very common - except in those places where they use en-Gauge electronically monitored fire extinguishers. There vandalism is scant, clean-up costs nil and working fire extinguishers are assured.

A man with a history of creating pipe bombs is suspected of leaving another bomb -- this time in a fire extinguisher -- in his car.

The car had been in the police impound lot before being picked up by family. There's a question whether the car had been searched by police before being released.

It's easy to overlook what appears to be a safety device but in reality has been transformed into a dangerous and life-threatening weapon. That's why many facilities have chosen to electronically monitor their fire extinguishers so they know where they are 24/7.

Vandals are at it again. Breaking into a school and setting off fire extinguishers. A fire alarm also went off causing the fire department to respond, despite the fact there was no fire. Electronically monitored fire extinguishers would have notified authorities when an extinguisher was removed perhaps helping the police catch the vandals in the act.

Here we go again. This time in Alabama where four young men vandalized a high school with a fire extinguisher and caused more than $10,000 in damages and clean-up costs.

Monitored extinguishers may have resulted in quicker response time from authorities and less damage to the school.

Thank goodness for that fast acting safety officer and his trusty fire extinguisher or the damage could have been worse. The accidental fire required the evacuation of 600+ students, but thankfully no one was hurt.

What a mess! The eight extinguishers were set off in the kitchen, kitchen closet, hallway and gym. School personnel cleaned up most of the mess, but an outside crew was needed to clean-up the kitchen due to the extent of the damage.

Police only became aware of the break-in and vandalism after the fog from the extinguishers set off fire alarms. If those extinguishers had been electronically monitored, security could have been notified as soon as the first one was taken from its hook. That immediate notification might have prevented such extensive damage.