CHICAGO, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The Chicago City Council Tuesday said it is considering allowing businesses to install non-lethal electric security fences around their property.
The measure would require that an electric fence be surrounded by a non-electric outer fence, include posted warnings, and would be prohibited on parts of property that border residential or public areas, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner John McNicholas voiced protest of the measure, saying the fences could make it more difficult for fire fighters to access a fire scene.
"When we are making our move, the last thing we want is to get zapped," McNicholas said.
Bernard Stone, the alderman of the 50th ward, said firefighters could be provided with master keys to switch boxes to turn off the power, similar to the way they have keys to the city's high rises' elevators.
The fences are powered by a solar-energy device similar to a car battery, sending 7,000 volt jolts every 1.3 seconds into the hands of those who make contact with the fences.
The fences have never been found fatal in the states and cities that allow them, Michael Pate, director of business development for Sentry Security Systems, said, the newspaper reported.
A Taser electric stun gun, by comparison, sends a 50,000-volt jolt 21 times per second, said Pate, testifying at a joint Finance and Buildings Committee meeting.
California and Illinois cities such as Bolingbrook, Elmhurst, Rockford and Schaumburg and Chicago railroad facilities allow the fences, city officials said.
