Initially, Securiton was primarily known for its intrusion and hold-up alarm systems. At the same time, however, it also sold all kinds of fire detectors. One of the driving forces here was the Pyrotector smoke detector. While this initially had a difficult time due to its new type of measurement, it eventually became a successful product. Securiton also sold the more popular heat detectors and manual call points. The range was rounded off by pressure wave detectors and fusible link detectors.
Our smoke detector Pyrotector takes its name from the Greek word for fire (pyro) and the Latin word for discoverer (detector). For years, the Securiton range has included fire alarm systems that work together with thermal detectors, i.e. detectors that respond to heat. Compared to our intrusion and hold-up alarm systems, however, the fire alarm systems remained largely in the background. This was primarily due to the fact that the public, influenced by clever propaganda, seemed to largely equate the term fire detector with smoke detector, thus overlooking the fact that a detector that responds to heat can be just as effective.
In key circles – in case of Switzerland, primarily the Fire Prevention Service (BVD) – it has now become clear that a heat detector or a smoke detector may be more suitable depending on where it is used. It is therefore important to choose the right detector for the right location. After many years of preliminary work and testing, we now also have a smoke detector at our disposal. While the best-known smoke detector to date “smells” the smoke or, in other words, detects the chemical change (ionisation) in the air caused by the combustion gases, our Pyrotector is an optical smoke detector that “sees” the smoke. At the incipient stage of each fire, solid suspended particles form in addition to gaseous combustion products. These are primarily carbon particles, which enter the detector’s measuring chamber as the heated air rises. They pass through a bundled beam of light and produce a light reflection that is measured by a photoelement positioned at right angles to the light beam. When a certain amount of these light reflections (alarm threshold) is reached, an electronic switch in the fire alarm control panel triggers an alarm. For the detector to function properly, it is essential that the light beam emanating from a constantly lit lamp (with minor exceptions) only reflects smoke particles. This is ensured on the one hand by the fact that the light beam is completely absorbed in a deep-black light trap and that the smoke enters via a labyrinth, which largely keeps the outside light away. On the other hand, it is necessary that only smoke particles that occur in sufficient quantities (not through cigarette smoke, for example) cause the detector to respond, but not dust, gases or vapours. This is made possible by the labyrinth. Because they are light and small, only the smoke particles enter the measuring chamber in a sufficient number with the rising heated air. Dust, gas and steam are carriers and are mainly reflected away in the angled labyrinth. The danger of false alarms is therefore extremely low. In contrast, smoke from a fire will trigger an alarm within seconds.
As with any alarm system that has to be relied on, the Pyrotector has to be constantly monitored by an electrical control system. Any malfunctions are immediately reported to the control panel as faults, in particular the failure of the lamp. However, this has a guaranteed minimum burn time of two years. Faults and alarms cause a control light to illuminate on the detector, which makes it possible to identify the malfunctioning detector immediately. If a defect should occur, the detector can be replaced within a very short time as it consists of two parts – the connection base and the plug-in detector head. Together with the thermal differential detector, which has been in use since 1955 but has also become one of the most modern detectors thanks to new remote testing options, the Pyrotector is an extremely powerful combination. Supplemented by our indispensable manual call points and the pressure wave detectors and fusible link detectors that are still used in special places, we now have a complete programme in the field of fire alarm systems, just as with our intrusion and hold-up alarm systems.
How did the addition of Pyrotector come about? On the initiative of Manuel Spreng, the Securitas Group acquires a majority stake in Pyrotector Europe GmbH, which was established two years earlier. Shortly after joining the Securitas Group, the company, later renamed Hekatron, develops and builds Europe's first mass-produced optical scattered-light smoke detectors, which are also distributed by Securiton. To this day, Hekatron, based in Sulzburg (DE), remains an important part of the Securitas Group.