Chubb Fire has announced the development of Deafgard, wire free technology for alerting the deaf and hard of hearing in the event of fire at night.
Deafgard is an acoustically activated bedside unit with an epilepsy-friendly strobe. The device picks up the sound of the alarm, and a connected pad - which is placed underneath the pillow - vibrates to wake the sleeper.
At the same time, a high intensity flashing strobe and an LCD provide visual indication that the fire alarm is sounding, showing the illuminated word 'FIRE'.
Chubb Fire's Head of Marketing Suzanne Donovan, says: "We believe this can really make a difference to what is a very difficult situation in the hospitality and care industries.
"If the reception staff follow our advice and hand the Deafgard on arrival to all guests who are deaf or hard of hearing, after first testing it and demonstrating how it works, some tragic situations can be avoided.
"Also, important demands laid down by the DDA legislation are being fulfilled."
Currently there is no British Standard to cover public dwellings, but the Deafgard 'under pillow pad' has been tested against BS5446, the standard for devices for the deaf in domestic dwellings. It can be used with any fire alarm designed to BS 5839.
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