Behind every business is the story of how it began. We hope you find OneEvent’s story to be one worth sharing for this first blog post.
Not too long ago, OneEvent co-founder Kurt Wedig was beginning what to him seemed like his average day. He and his wife often catch part of NBC’s “TODAY” show on weekday mornings, and on this particular day, Natalie Morales was interviewing subjects for a news series titled “Cause for Alarm?”
Kurt Wedig
The story focused on a Las Vegas hotel fire in which thousands of guests were forced to flee their rooms. As Kurt watched with interest, he heard a fire expert who was interviewed say something that he couldn’t get out of his head: “Choosing a hotel with smoke alarms and fire sprinklers is a good start, but you can’t rely on that technology to save you.”
Why was it, despite all the technological advances our society has made in the age of the Internet and wireless, that no one had created a product that saves lives and prevents these types of tragedies?
Kurt tapped his friend, future OneEvent co-founder and engineer Dan Parent. The two combined their business and technical talents to build a system that could turn a basic smoke detector into a high-tech fire detection and rescue tool.
Today, our company is much more than just Kurt and Dan, and the system’s capabilities go far beyond helping people find their way out of a burning structure. Our staff includes a team of skilled engineers and scientists who continue to discover new ways to harness OneEvent’s patented technology and apply it to almost any wirelessly connected device.
By constantly measuring temperature, humidity, motion and other factors, our intelligent monitoring solution learns occupants’ behaviors, knowing when a change in the home or business environment is routine or out of the ordinary. (Somewhat ironic that Kurt’s idea to start OneEvent came about because he was following his routine of watching the “TODAY” show!) It’s also the only technology that bridges the gap between life safety, security and automation systems.
OneEvent’s system so intuitive and convenient, it can make people’s lives simpler and safer. Its forensic data collection and analysis can help property and casualty insurance companies minimize property loss, reduce premiums and expedite investigation. Its real-time analytics can tell firefighters where a fire started, how quickly it’s spreading and whether anyone’s inside a burning property — all before they even arrive at the scene of the call. It can detect a water leak, a broken window, a door left open. It can send alerts to a smartphone if an elderly parent, who lives alone, has unusual or no movement patterns that might indicate he or she has fallen.
In the coming months, we hope to educate you on OneEvent’s evolution, the system’s many capabilities and how it works, with some behind-the-scenes accounts from those doing the engineering and development. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, too, so you don’t miss our posts.