How to detect fire or smoke with CCTV

A point-type smoke alarm has to wait for smoke to physically drift up to it and build to a threshold. A camera doesn't wait for anything to arrive: it's already looking at the room, so smoke rising off a pallet in a warehouse corner or a flare of flame near a fryer is visible the moment it starts, wherever in frame it happens to be.

How Fire & Smoke Watch works

Fire & Smoke Watch is one of the alerting checks: it judges a window of recent frames rather than any single image, so a genuine sequence of smoke building or flame appearing reads as an event, not one oddly lit frame getting flagged on its own. It's switched on per camera, the same way any check is, and it runs alongside whatever else that camera is already watching for.

How fast it catches something depends on the watch level, which sets how often a frame is sampled. Precise samples a frame every second and suits a plant room or kitchen where a fire risk can develop quickly. Standard, a frame every 5 seconds, is the usual default. Either way, the check is reading real frames from the camera feed you already have, not a separate sensor.

1. 01

   Point a camera at the risk

   A plant room, a kitchen line, a loading bay or a storage aisle, over an existing RTSP camera or an uploaded feed. No new hardware to fit.

2. 02

   Turn on Fire & Smoke Watch for that camera

   It's added from the Store like any check, priced from your own usage, and only watches the cameras you switch it on for.

3. 03

   Pick a watch level that matches how fast things move

   Precise for a room where a fire could take hold in seconds, Standard where a slower response is acceptable.

4. 04

   Route the alert to whoever's on shift

   On screen, by email, or by webhook into a messaging system already in use, so the alert reaches a person, not just a log.

Can this replace our fire alarm system?

No. Fire & Smoke Watch is a visual flag from a camera feed, not a certified life-safety device. It's a supplement that can catch something visible before it reaches a heat or smoke sensor, never a substitute for a proper fire alarm system.

How quickly does it catch a fire starting?

It depends on the watch level. Precise samples a frame every second, so a fast-developing event in that camera's view gets picked up quickly. The check judges a short window of recent frames as an event, rather than reacting to one frame in isolation.

Does it need new sensors or cameras?

No. It runs on the RTSP camera, uploaded footage or live feed you point it at, the same footage the rest of Svid watches. There's no proprietary hardware to fit.

How do we get told when it fires?

On screen in the app, by email, or by a JSON webhook into a system you already run. One event produces one alert.