Portable Fire Extinguishers Can Now Be Monitored Electronically

By Nick Markowitz Jr.
Fire Investigator

One of the requests I frequently get from my alarm customers is to monitor their portable fire extinguishers for theft and vandalism. There is now a product on the market that does this task 2 steps better called EN-Gauge by a company called Mija Inc. www.mija.com.

This new product uses a modified Hall effect switch to tell several problems with the extinguishers. 1st it tells you the extinguisher is in place. If someone attempts to move it, a module either hardwired or wireless, trips the buildings burglar or fire system trouble alert to the fact the extinguisher is missing. 2nd it tells you if the pressure in the extinguisher is correct. 3rd it has a Sonar Signal which can tell you if the extinguisher is being blocked by an object such as plywood, refrigerator, file cabinet etc.

Tests are currently being run and legislation is being enacted in several states to allow the EN- Gauge product to be used for the monthly required inspection of the NFPA –10 codes that are used in many locations. The fire extinguisher requires the removal of its discharge valve and the replacement EN- Gauge unit installed for it to work. It has a wire, which runs from the discharge nozzle into the wall and connects to the transponder unit, which hooks to the alarm system. The wire quickly disconnects when the unit is removed from the wall and does not interfere with operation of the exstinguisher. Several fire extinguisher manufacturers including Brooks Equiptment and Amerex are selling new extinguishers with the EN – Gauge unit in place. The En- Gauge can help solve many headaches involving fire extinguishers and cut down on the man-hours needed to check each extinguisher monthly. But like any electronically monitored signal it only works well when installed and maintained properly and not ignored or bypassed as I often see.

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