GLOBES

No smoke without fire? The General Security Services has instructed government ministers to get new type of gas masks – in case of fire
The sealed mask, manufactured at the Duram facility in Kibbutz Ramat Hakovesh, is the size of a pack of cigarettes and has been patented in both Israel and the United States.
By Sapir Peretz, September 2, 2004

Globes has learned that the General Security Service has instructed the heads of the security departments in all government ministries to make sure the ministers have gas masks effective against smoke.

The masks, manufactured by Duram Masks Ltd., owned by Kibbutz Ramat Hakovesh, are the size of a pack of cigarettes. Different from the better-known ABC (atomic, biologic, chemical) masks, the new type of mask has been patented both in Israel and the United States and is currently patent pending also in the European Union.

At the beginning of the week, OmniTOP International Trade & Marketing Ltd. signed an agreement with the manufacturer for the exclusive rights to distribute the product in several countries. OmniTOP also distributes the product in Israel.

Ilan Linherd, CEO of OmniTOP and formerly head of the security department at the Prime Minister's Office and a senior GSS officer, said in response that he is familiar the GSS directives. "The threat of fire exists everywhere and at all times, regardless of the security situation. The rationale of the GSS, charged with the safekeeping of government ministers, is sound," he noted.

According to Linherd, the personal escape mask's advantages are, in additional to its convenient size, its ease of use and low cost. The mask is sold at a recommended retail price of $58.

OmniTOP, says Linherd, markets the mask, designed to protect against biologic and chemical agents and effective also against smoke inhalation, at around $100 per mask.

The Owner and Chairman of The Board at OmniTOP, Elad Yehuda, added that institutional and private sources abroad have expressed interest in the new mask. The company is currently negotiating the sale of some 30,000 masks to an individual in Japan: "Talks we're having with security institutions abroad have brought home the fact that the mask is effective against a range of threats – smoke inhalation, biologic and chemical agents – and is therefore of interest to potential buyers because of the concern about terrorist attacks."

Benny Nur, CEO of Duram Masks Ltd., responded: "OmniTOP informed me of the new GSS directive." Furthermore, he said, sales at the plant, employing 15, stand at about $1 million annually, and that the plant also makes tens of thousands of masks for the chemical industry.

The Prime Minister's Office added: "The GSS has instructed the bureaus of the people under GSS protection to acquire personal anti-smoke inhalation escape kits to protect individuals in case of fire."