Fog machine at a shop in Houston made me rethink my whole setup

I was helping out at a buddy's shop for a barber expo demo last Saturday. Some guy brought in a fog machine for the product reveal and it set off the fire sprinklers over my station. Drenched my clippers, my leather bag, and a customer's jacket before we could shut it down. Has anyone else dealt with unexpected water damage at your chair from some event gone wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathankim14d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy’s barber shop in Austin had a similar disaster when a smoke machine triggered the sprinklers during a launch party. We ended up covering all our gear with heavy-duty trash bags and putting plastic sheeting over the stations before any more events, saved us a ton of hassle.

grantw4114d ago

Actually, smoke machines don't usually set off sprinklers since they're heat activated, not smoke triggered.

nathankim14d agoMost Upvoted

Actually @grantw41 my buddy’s barber shop incident was a total fluke. The fire marshal told us it happened because the smoke machine’s fog condensed on the sprinkler heads and tripped the heat sensor. The fog was cold but the machine’s compressor warmed up the room just enough to set off one head, then the chain reaction flooded the place. So yeah, in general smoke machines don't set off sprinklers, but if the fog gets thick enough and the room is small, it can mess with the temperature differential. We learned that lesson the hard way.