Tampa-based entrepreneur Blake Richardson is proving that louder isn’t always better in the tech world.
He’s the co-founder and CEO of EaseAlert, a wearable alert platform for the first-responder community. The hardware startup is replacing loud — and potentially dangerous — alarm systems with a heart-friendly solution.
Richardson said the idea for EaseAlert came from spending time growing up around the firehouse with his dad. He saw how the loud alerting system triggered by a 911 call touches off a “fight-or-flight” response in firefighters. Raising blood pressure and heart rate after every alert can have a detrimental impact on firefighters on call.
“I did a little bit of digging and learned that the leading cause of on-duty death for firefighters is a heart attack. That was pretty surprising to me. But what was even more surprising is that firefighters are up to 14 times more likely to die of heart attack during alarm response alone than during non-emergency duties. And so that was when I realized, there’s a real problem here with the way that we alert firefighters to an emergency.”
Richardson started working on the concept of a wearable device that gives first responders a “gentile, tactical notification” in 2019. He worked with Chief Operating Officer Elezar Tonev to build out the EaseAlert product.
After testing inside his father’s firehouse, EaseAlert has expanded into contracts across the country. The team also landed a grant from the National Institutes of Health to do a clinical study on how EaseAlert impacts firefighter’s health.
“We actually just got our preliminary data back and saw that these alerts improved health outcomes for firefighters by 388% compared to Audible alerting systems,” Richardson added.
EaseAlert Heads to The Seas
EaseAlert is a member of Embarc Collective, Tampa’s entrepreneurial and startup hub. Richardson credits the Florida startup ecosystem with helping EaseAlert expand early on.
That includes helping bring the startup to the open waters around Florida.
Richardson met the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) at a networking event in St. Petersburg. FIO Director Dr. Monty Graham thought there could be a unique use case for EaseAlert on their research vessels.
The FIO research vessels realized they could use EaseAlert’s advanced alerting capabilities to help those who are deaf or hard of hearing receive emergency notifications while onboard. It could also improve the safety of people working in the loud engine room of the ship.
Sending better alerts can help crew members be “more cognizant, less stressed, and able to think more clearly in emergency situations,” Richardson added.
“We want to see EaseAlerts throughout all types of marine vessels, from research vessels to the United States Navy and Coast Guard. We want to help their personnel be healthier and their operations run more smoothly. And we want to reduce communications errors or missed alerts or the stress effects of waking up to audible alarms or missing audible alarms.”
