Built to Stay Online When Power Goes Out

In early 2017, we learned of a tragedy that took place at a branch of the YMCA of Charlotte, one of our best PunchAlert customers. One morning, a young lifeguard was found in the pool, fully clothed, having drowned some time earlier. It was later that year at the YMCA Risk Management conference in Seattle, where sitting in the audience I watched the risk management director of the YMCA of Charlotte explain what happened after much investigation. Apparently, the lifeguard had a seizure while opening up the pool that morning, fell in while completely alone, and drowned. Our emergency communication platform and mobile app, PunchAlert, was of no use in this terrible circumstance. We spent the next two days in Seattle meeting with aquatic directors and risk managers to fully understand the problem and the need. Ultimately, the idea for the Rescue Raft was born on that day…. a wearable panic button for lifeguards, that could automatically activate upon submersion in water, notify all on-site staff with a connected Alert Station, and create a PunchAlert emergency to then 2-way communicate, manage, and resolve the situation.