En-guage installed in N.H.
By Martha Entwistle
Updated Wed July 1, 2009
NASHUA, N.H.--When Bill Degnan, New Hampshire state fire marshal, found out that SimplexGrinnell was going to install en-Guage monitored fire extinguishers at its Nashua showroom, he suggested they install the system at the New Hampshire State House instead.
Those involved say the installation, completed in April and announced in late May, not only improves fire safety in the State House, but also increases security, saves money for the state and gives SimplexGrinnell a unique showplace for this technology.
Robert DuMais, business development manager for SimplexGrinnell, said the installation was a great training tool for Simplex installers, and now SimplexGrinnell “will use it as a site to bring customers to demonstrate the product … it's a real-life application in a museum-like setting.”
The system, which includes 50 monitored fire extinguishers in three separate buildings, “improves security and fire safety without [heavy security measures that] impede the freedom of people to come in and out of the building,” Degnan said.
“In different places around the world, fire extinguishers have been used as IEDs, that's one of the concerns,” Degnan explained. Another is that someone could take fire extinguishers and spray them around to disrupt legislative proceedings. The en-Guage system integrates the fire and security systems wirelessly and alerts a control center if an extinguisher is tampered with, depressurized or obstructed. It also saves money for the state because monthly manual inspections are not required. John McSheffrey, president of en-Gauge, noted that “aside from SimplexGrinnell and en-Gauge, Inc., the install couldn't have happened without the assistance of Inovonics, PACOM and Ansul, all who donated equipment to the project.”
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