Early Hazardous Threat Detection for First Responders: Blackline Safety to Debut its Next-Gen EXO 8 Portable Area Monitor

You know what’d be great for the IoT (and IIoT) space, readers?

Well, among many on-the-way innovations, a solution that helps teams rapidly respond to incidents involving hazardous substances. In addition to the obvious — ensuring the safety of workers, first responders, the public and the environment at large — such a solution (powered by real-time connectivity) could provide key situational awareness capabilities that could, in theory, be shared with all responders. Automated event analytics could even provide insights into given incidents after the fact, enabling teams to understand a.) what happened, b.) how it happened, and c.) what proactive measures can be taken next time to better handle (or wholly prevent) future incidents.

That could be neat, yeah?

Today, let’s drop the “could” and “in theory” language because, according to Blackline Safety Corp., this solution is on the way.

Blackline, known for leading much of the charge when it comes to connected safety technologies, announced its next-gen EXO 8 connected area monitor that, quote, “advances gas detection and early threat identification for companies and first responders.”

Let’s dig a bit deeper.

This new EXO 8 is being described by Blackline as “the only direct-to-cloud portable area monitor capable of detecting up to eight gases, plus gamma radiation.” Built into a rugged, drop-and-go device (with up to 100 days’ worth of battery life, real-time data and location streaming, to boot), any alert is received in under two seconds in Blackline Live, where reporting capabilities help users analyze what’s happening/happened so they can take steps to control the situation at hand and, ultimately, save lives.

The durable EXO 8 also features a gas expansion model (with the ability to add up to four additional sensors, for a total of eight gases) the aforementioned integrated gamma radiation sensor (with continuous operation, i.e. without cycling on/off so responders know radiation is present sooner and from farther away, reducing overall risk of harmful exposure), and a high-resolution, full-color dual dashboard display with live readings so users can quickly see active alarms and diagnose device status.

But don’t take it merely from us; Chris Johnson, Hazmat Technician for the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services in the state of New York, also sees the value EXO 8 brings to hazmat response.

“Blackline Safety’s G7 EXO was already my preferred area monitor in the field,” Johnson explained. “The ability to quickly swap out gas sensors to adapt to whatever threat we’re facing during response is invaluable. The data you get from the device — in real time, from anywhere in the world, and easily understandable — has been critical to successful incident response.”

“And on top of that,” Johnson added, “EXO 8 with gamma detection will help us in even more scenarios, including behind-the-scenes monitoring. Gamma allows us to use the device for public safety as part of protection during mass gatherings. It will also keep our people more protected because we can detect more gases.”

Lastly here, a statement from Cody Slater, Blackline Safety’s CEO:

“Four years ago, we introduced the G7 EXO with Blackline’s industry-leading real-time connectivity, which quickly became the gold standard for area monitoring. With EXO 8, we’ve significantly expanded our customers’ ability to protect people and communities across a wider range of situations. We’re responding to a direct need in the market by providing organizations with more robust technology that helps them address a broader spectrum of risks, faster.”