Early Adopter Visit: Branson Fire Rescue (MO)
In December 2021, Blake (co-founder, EaseAlert) got the chance to walk in the shoes of a firefighter – and it did not disappoint.
In addition to roughly 11,000 permanent residents, Branson Fire Rescue (BFR) protects the 8 million tourists that visit Branson, Missouri each year. Located just 10 miles north of Arkansas, in the middle of the Ozark Mountains, Branson is a must-see, family-friendly destination.
Blake visits Early Adopter, Branson Fire Rescue
As one of EaseAlert's eight Early Adopters across the United States, BFR is currently piloting EaseAlert’s Fire Fighter Alerting System (FFAS). They are interested in EaseAlert as a less stressful method of waking up their crews than the startling audible alert they typically use.
BFR is a career fire department with three, single-company stations, providing all-hazards response and mutual aid for everything within Branson city limits and neighboring cities. The department’s two engine companies and one truck company responded to over 5,000 calls in 2021.
The most important component of BFR is the personnel. The individuals at every rank in this organization care tremendously about the community they serve, the quality of service they provide, and each other. The crews respond with speed and professionalism to 911 calls during all hours, and they and push themselves to be better every day with mental and physical training.
Shift officer working incident command while his firefighters attack a fire.
The crews shared many valuable lessons during with Blake during his short stay in Branson. He learned about life inside and outside of the fire station. He rode alongside an inventor who created a tool to make a critical firefighter task much easier, a national leader in Strongman competitions who is aims to be the world champion, and a ski-bum-turned-firefighter who traveled the world before settling down in Branson, Missouri.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways Blake learned:
1. Firefighting is not just a job; it’s a passion.
2. Define your own success and stop at nothing to pursue it.
3. Dig deep and find a way to get through difficult tasks – you’ll be glad you did.
EaseAlert, a true heart smart FFAS, delivers vibration alerts via wristbands and bedside devices for emergency dispatching. When a call comes in, EaseAlert wearables vibrate for five seconds on the responder’s wrist and our BunkAlerts vibrate and shine red LEDs to make the wakeup process less stressful. EaseAlert delivered 10,000+ less stressful and more efficient alerts to emergency responders in 2021.
EaseAlert wearable and BunkAlert.
Traditional audible alerts often cause blood pressure to soar. This has to do with a fight-or-flight response in the amygdala which can cause inflammation of the arteries. Over the course of a career, this auditory response fuels the risk of suffering a heart attack — the leading cause of on-duty death. Even more troubling is that firefighters are up to 14.1-times more likely to die from a heart attack during alarm response than non-emergency duties. EaseAlert is committed to reducing stress and improving efficiency.
Thank you, Branson Fire Rescue for joining EaseAlert in the fight against stress-related deaths among firefighters. Special thanks to Division Chief Mike Novak and BFR Engine 3 A-Shift, B-Shift, and C-Shift.
Branson Fire Rescue Engine 3