LAFAYETTE, Colo. (KDVR) — Even when he’s not at his day job saving lives as a local firefighter, Brian Saxon is hard at work in the family garage, honing a device he invented to help keep people alive.
Saxon is a lifelong swimmer, diver and lifeguard, and a few years ago, he had an epiphany: when people like him are trying to rescue someone from the water, and get them onto a boat or over the side of a swimming pool, it’s hard to get the victim to safety without injuring them.
So, Saxon got to work in his father’s garage, putting together a prototype for a device that would make things easier for rescuers.
The final product? A buoyant backboard called the Rescue X Rapid Extrication Board.
A rescuer can strap it on to the victim to keep them safe, secure and on the surface. With skis on the bottom to get over rough surfaces and straps that make the backboard easy to grip, the features allow for a much easier pull to the side of a boat or swimming pool. This results in rescue efforts being much easier to help save a life.
In fact, Saxon said to FOX31, it has already saved lives.
“I’ve already gotten two calls. There are people walking around right now just because of this (device),” said Saxon.
For the past few years, with the help of family and friends, Saxon continued to make the backboard in the garage. He even obtained a patent for the device, and has already assembled a couple of hundred of them.
Rescue X Rapid Extrication Board is already in use around the country, including at some Denver metro fire departments.
Even though it’s Saxon’s first invention, don’t expect to see him on Shark Tank anytime soon as he said he’s not in it to get rich: he wants to get the backboard in the right hands, train as many people as possible to use it, and keep water rescue victims alive.
Saxon even notes that the device has uses beyond water rescues, too.
“People on the fire department know what I’m doing, and there’ve been a few times they’re like I wonder if the rapid extrication board could have helped us move that person a little faster,” Saxon said.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
