Mon | Sep 22, 2025

New security system to cloud burglary attempts

Published:Thursday | April 7, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Gavin Ireland (left), technical director, Omni Security Solutions, assists a woman during a demonstration at the launch of the FlashFog Technology Security System at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St Andrew on Tuesday evening. The FlashFog system, according to its creators, is designed to blanket the area where it is installed with a thick white environmentally friendly vapour in just 30 seconds, completely blocking the visibility of the intruder. The density of the fog is amplified by a bright

A new security system designed to buy the police and other first responders crucial time during a robbery was unveiled in Jamaica on Tuesday.

The FlashFog system, created by Omni Security Solutions, has been hailed by National Security Minister Senator Dwight Nelson as a "new and effective" tool in the continued fight against criminality.

"This new system brings to the table far more than even the most sophisticated criminals can handle," Nelson said during the launch, held at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St Andrew.

"The criminal mind in Jamaica is perhaps more acute than the criminal mind elsewhere in the world, so I am hoping that during the course of your installation and development of the product, you will find ways to adapt and recreate so that it will always stay one step ahead of the criminal mind in Jamaica," he added.

completely safe

The FlashFog system, according to its creators, is designed to blanket the area where it is installed with a thick white environmentally friendly vapour in just 30 seconds, completely blocking the visibility of the intruder. The density of the fog is amplified by a bright "strobe" light that forms part of the system.

Gavin Ireland, the technical director at Omni Security Solutions, insisted that the fog, which is made from the common food ingredient glycol, is "completely safe" and clears in 45 minutes.

This, he added, should provide enough time for the police and other first responders to put measures in place to apprehend persons involved in the robbery.

Steven Conville, Omni Security Solutions' executive vice-president, said the system is not a "salvation", but asserted that it buys crucial time for persons who are victims of push-in and other forms of robberies.

In addition, Conville said in the long term, the FlashFog system can lead to a reduction in crimes in Jamaica.

"What is the long-term benefit of reducing crime in Jamaica? It's an exponential number, it cannot be quantified or calculated," he stressed.

The FlashFog system is currently available to homeowners and businesses through Omni.