Plumis

Plumis produces novel solutions in domestic active fire protection to meet building regulations and the RRFSO. Intended as a more affordable alternative to sprinklers, Automist is a fire protection innovation which provides developers with design freedom and flexibility for open plan spaces, in new builds, refurbishments or loft conversions. The unique device Automist was extensively tested by BRE and shown to suppress fires which would have otherwise flashed-over, bringing active fire protection to homes where previously it was cumbersome or impractical.

Plumis was founded by Paul Thomas, William Makant and Yusuf Muhammad, and is made up of a multidisciplinary team of designers, engineers and MBAs. It was formed off the back of winning two University-wide competitions, organised by Imperial College Business School, the Imperial Ideas Challenge and Business Challenge. Plumis' motivation is to help introduce affordable home fire protection into the mainstream and bring active fire protection to homes where previously it was cumbersome or impractical.

Plumis beat over 400 entries from 21 countries to win the Dyson Award in 2009. James Dyson said: "This simple but clever device should become a permanent safety feature in the home. Smoke alarms are essential part of modern life but have remained fundamentally unchanged for 40 years. Automist not only detects a fire but can put it out as well."

Plumis was awarded the Innovator of the Year Award at the Growing Business Awards in 2014.