Fire Safety Tech Unlocks Wider Health Gains

From suppression to prevention 

Fire suppression technology has seen little innovation for over a century. Muhammad explains that this was a key motivation for founding Plumis:

“When I spoke to the London Fire Brigade, they said there’d been very little innovation in sprinklers in over 100 years. We wanted to bring human-centred design thinking to this space.” 

Their system uses a directed mist – reducing water damage compared to traditional sprinklers – and allows easy retrofit into existing stock. Crucially, the sensors gather data that can be applied to much more than fire safety. 

Taylor believes this is where the real value lies: “You’re delivering something you need anyway, but you can also gain more data – perhaps on falls, or whether someone is showing signs of dementia. That’s exciting.” 

Turning data into insights 

Thorngate is already using Power BI to combine multiple datasets – from call bell response times to resident health indicators – into a single dashboard. This approach has exposed trends that inform both care and housing management. 

“One example,” Taylor says, “was analysing call bell data. We could see when response times weren’t where we wanted them, and we could spot changes in individual residents’ behaviour – like increased use of pendants – which sometimes indicated a wider health issue.” 

Big data has delivered surprising insights elsewhere too. Taylor cites anonymised research from a care software provider analysing millions of data points across the UK and Australia. The findings? A switch to decaffeinated coffee reduced falls by 30%. 

“It’s staggering,” she says. “AI found a link no one expected. If we can gather housing data on a similar scale, imagine what we could discover.” 

Innovation on a budget 

Thorngate is a small housing provider, which makes experimentation challenging. But Taylor credits a “tiny innovation budget”, a supportive board and a trusted fractional CIO for enabling the pilot. 

“I’m not a technology specialist,” she admits, “but having someone I could trust to help me use data made all the difference. And our board is agile – they support projects that deliver value for residents. That combination makes innovation possible.” 

For Muhammad, collaboration with a provider willing to co-design solutions has been vital:

“So many industries don’t spend enough time understanding problems properly. Working with Thorngate has allowed us to explore how to make technology truly useful.” 

Balancing customisation and scale 

Scaling solutions across a fragmented sector is a challenge. “Every organisation has different goals and digital readiness,” Muhammad says. “We’re focused on ensuring our data is open and can integrate with multiple platforms – but finding a uniform value proposition that works for everyone is complex.” 

Plumis has begun developing configurable algorithms, such as its Ember Track AI, which can adjust sensitivity for residents using emollient creams or oxygen therapy. “Once you’ve got a good hardware platform,” Muhammad says, “the software can evolve – it can learn and adapt. That’s where the real potential lies.” 

What’s next for housing? 

Both leaders see huge opportunity in cross-sector collaboration. “In care,” Taylor notes, “providers are already pooling data in anonymised lakes to track trends. Housing needs to follow that lead.” 

Muhammad is equally optimistic: “Most of the things we now take for granted in homes started as a small pilot. If we keep exploring how to put these sensors to good use, the impact could be transformative – particularly as our population ages.” 

Key takeaway 

This pilot shows how rethinking a single building system can unlock wider health benefits. For housing providers, the message is clear: 

Start small, use data creatively, and find trusted partners who can help you turn compliance requirements into opportunities for better resident outcomes. 

Next steps: Housing providers should explore low-cost pilots for sensor-led technologies, invest in basic data analysis tools like Power BI, and collaborate on shared data initiatives to uncover sector-wide insights.