Hottest Team in Real Estate Tech Honored for Aiding Firefighters in National Day of Civic Hacking

FORT MYERS, Fla. - June 8, 2015 - PRLog -- While software developers at Estero-based REfindly are accustomed to recognition involving how their services benefit real estate industry professionals, during the weekend’s National Day of Civic Hacking, the REfindly team was recognized for devising a software platform that helps professional firefighters.

   REfindly Data Scientist Matthew Crowson, along with Software Developers Josh Artuso, Antoine Patton and Hunter Bierley took top-honors in a “Civic Hackathon” sponsored by the Southwest Florida Regional Technology Partnership. The local initiative was held in conjunction with other national events that sought to galvanize the talents from teams of techies working together to create solutions that help improve communities as well as the governments that respectively serve them.

    Local participants were challenged to concentrate on innovations that either addressed greater community health & wellbeing or problem-solving particular to the needs of firefighters.

    As REfindly Data Scientist Matthew Crowson explains, the team learned how firefighters not only confront the dangers that come from excessive heat, but also the life-threatening impacts that arise from exposure to fumes from burning toxins. “There’s been far too many cases where firefighters contract cancer and other diseases from such exposure,” says Crowson. “At the same time, although a firefighter may be equipped with various sensors designed to monitor varying factors, there is no single framework that allows one to quickly or conveniently access and assess the range of data indicated. Our team resolved to create a platform that could offer real-time insight on any type of sensor data, whether it wasthermal fluctuations, air quality degradation or other factors, since this might mitigate the potential for injury or illness.”

Over the course of two nights and three days, the software writers toiled within a break room located within the Lee County Economic Development Office to create a solution. “We kept meeting so many interesting people and participating vendors, it distracted us from the work we wanted to accomplish, so we hid out in the break room,” says Crowson. That focus helped the team to not only create a working prototype, but also claim prize of $250 following determination of judges at the event.

   “We were only doing this for fun and to be helpful, but we’re surprised by the last minute announcement of an award,” says REfindly Software Developer Josh Artuso “Our team typically only focuses on technology that helps real estate agents and brokers, but in our spare time, we like to consider other pursuits where new software can help solve problems,” says Artuso, who also serves as Computer Programming Instructor at Lorenzo Walker Technical College.

         “Helping others is integral to our corporate culture at REfindly,” says Antoine Patton. In addition to being a software developer for REfindly, Patton is also Founder of Photo Patch Foundation, a not-for-profit aided by tech that enables children to more easily communicate with incarcerated parents. “At REfindly, we have people that volunteer their talents to help churches, families-in-crisis, animals and other causes. In this case, it was nice to work together on something that is supportive to firefighters because they serve everyone.”

      Despite the success at the Hackathon, Crowson says the REfindly team has no plans on pursuing software design for fire-related services. “We’ll leave fire protection to the professionals,” says Crowson. “The Hackathon helps demonstrate how technology can help a community. We’re happy to help those working in America’s hottest real estate market, helping them achieve more sales gets us fired-up, but I do have to admit… we’re excited over the invite to do a ride along on the fire truck. For geeks like us, it’s the fulfillment of a childhood dream!”