Guardsman and Vanguard Alarms: A Technology's Last Gasp

For more than a century, mechanical heat-activated alarms dominated the fire safety market, only being fully replaced by modern electronic smoke detectors starting in the 1980s. In this episode, we look at two different models - the Guardsman and the Vanguard - the latter of which conceals a fascinating history of false advertising and the rise and fall of a major - but forgotten - American corporation. 0:00 Intro 0:41 Guardsman Alarm 3:44 Vanguard Alarm: Intro 4:00 Interstate Engineering 6:30 Figgie International 8:34 Vanguard Models + Prices 9:45 Vanguard V5-40FT Disassembly 11:51 Downfall of Figgie International 14:26 Outro SOURCES https://patents.google.com/patent/US1... https://www.cleveland.com/obituaries/... harry_e_figgie_deat_at_85_buil.html https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Re... https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/fil... https://patents.google.com/patent/US3... https://patents.google.com/patent/US3... https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/... https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/... https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/0... https://www.zippia.com/figgie-interna... https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/po...