SimpleSense has developed unique sensors to help police and firefighters responding to an incident find people in buildings faster.

Building systems often have many cameras and motion detectors. Until now, there has not been a fast way to link that information to building maps and get it to rescuers running into a fire or active shooter situation.

In a simulation in Reno, Nevada, firefighters using SimpleSense cut their search time from 17.5 minutes to just 4.5 minutes.

SimpleSense and the Erie Fire Department plan a similar test at Mercyhurst University next week.

"All the local government agencies in Erie are behind this because they're looking for new technologies," said Alex Brickner, chief technical officer for SimpleSense. "What we're looking for and why we came to Erie was a partner who could help us prove that the technology that we're developing is actually valuable for the community."