Some business owners are turning to fog machines to smoke out thieves who break into their stores
Some business owners are turning to fog machines to smoke out thieves who break into their stores
Some business owners in Chicago are using a new tactic to befuddle burglars. And it looks like something out of a spy movie thriller.
A small business owner in the Lincoln Park area told WBBM that her store has been victim to burglaries twice in a one-year span.
That’s why she’s among the first in Illinois to use a “fogging security system” to keep burglars at bay.
“My store was robbed almost six months ago and I still don’t have a settlement from my insurance company,” she said, adding that dealing with thefts has been an issue for other businesses in the city and that it’s causing some to close up shop and move elsewhere.
Mike Egel, president and CEO of DensityUSA, said installing fog-emitting anti-theft devices in stores and businesses can stifle burglars.
“They literally can’t see it to steal it,” he said.
Egel explained a little about how the system works.
“DensityUSA’s instant fog technology is pretty unique. When a criminal breaks in after hours, the alarm deploys, the fog deploys and in seconds your business is going to be protected,” Egel said, later adding that the fog devices “will fill up about 1,000 square feet in roughly 16 seconds.”
The fog emitted from the machines is non-toxic and doesn’t leave grime behind. Egel says the devices are currently being used around the globe, but the company just started rolling the anti-theft devices out in the United States.
The owner of the small business in Lincoln Park didn’t want her identity or the identity of her store to be revealed but said having the fog-emitting device in her shop is giving her a sense of security.
“It just gives me peace of mind. I sleep better,” she said.
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