“There’s no smoke without fire” is a proverb most of us are familiar with, but even taking its literal meaning is of value: smoke is an early warning of a much more serious potential issue if not tackled quickly.
In any environment – from public spaces to warehouses, from stadiums to factories – it’s obvious to say that smoke itself and certainly the fire that might follow is a serious risk to human life, let alone the damage it can cause to buildings and their contents.
But in those environments where even the smallest fire or source of ignition could cause a catastrophic explosion, rapid reaction is absolutely essential. Modern network cameras combined with advanced image analysis can be used to detect possible signs of smoke or fire in a scene, complementing and providing valuable time before smoke is detected using traditional methods.
An additional layer of safety
It should be stated that smoke detection analytics embedded in surveillance cameras cannot replace any mandatory smoke and fire detection sensors and alarms.
However, as an additional layer of security - or in areas where smoke and fire detection isn’t mandatory – smoke detection analytics (which are also able to detect the early stages of fire, even if smokeless) can provide the early warning that will alert responders to an issue early enough to prevent it escalating.
Mitigating against ignition risks
Explosion-protected cameras are designed to prevent the camera itself from causing an explosion of the surrounding combustible environment. It makes sense that they should also carry the advanced analytics that can help identify other potential sources of ignition as early as possible. With smoke detection analytics embedded in the camera, another dimension to identifying risks has been added.
Proverbs become proverbs because they’re based on fundamental truths – and seeing smoke as early as possible is the most effective way of preventing a fire, and the damage it will cause.
