This past Thursday, Rescu Founder and CEO Paolo Piscatelli sat down with Frank Fishkin of the Techstination Podcast.

Techstination is your one-stop for reviews on the latest gear and technology, and inside scoops from the people behind the products.

In the interview, Paolo talks all about Rescu, including how the idea was born as well as everything subscribers can expect from the fastest way to get help in an emergency.

To give you an up-close look behind the scenes from the founder himself, we put this transcript of the podcast together.

So, keep reading to discover the origin story behind Rescu and how it outperforms the 911 service that we’re all accustomed to.

Techstination Podcast, Featuring Paolo Piscatelli

Fred Fishkin

An app designed to help you get emergency help more quickly, that’s our Techstination. I’m Fred Fishkin. The app is called Rescu, and joining us as CEO, Paolo Piscatelli. Thanks for taking the time, Paolo.

Paolo Piscatelli  

It’s a pleasure to be here.

Fred Fishkin  

Well, tell us what Rescu is and what it does.

Paolo Piscatelli  

Sure. Rescu began — actually close to our family — we had been in private dispatch and public safety dispatch for almost 45 years. And there was a medical emergency that happened with a member of my family, my dad, and he went to call 911. And unfortunately, it took about 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive — from the time that he first called, the time to answer questions, to the time the ambulance showed up. And unfortunately, it was just too long. 

So, we created a faster way to get help. Just two taps on your screen. And we have a private dispatch center that’s UL-listed. It’s a five-diamond rated dispatch center that’s your own private dispatch, and it works nationwide, and it delivers fire, police, or medical assistance to your location in seconds.

Fred Fishkin  

So tell us how it does what apparently 911 can’t always do?

Paolo Piscatelli  

Sure, that’s a great question. So, the first thing is, you predetermine and pre-communicate your information into the mobile application. So your name, your address or multiple addresses, like your office, or your mom’s house or parents’ house, your kid’s school, if anybody has any pre-existing medical conditions, and then there are nonverbal scripts to answer where it’s just a faster way to communicate. 

Anybody that uses modern-day messaging applications, texting, or social media communication applications — you can communicate more information with more individuals faster. Rescu aims to communicate information quicker to give it to our first responders, so that enables them to act quicker. 911 technology was founded over 100 years ago and uses old telephone networks and verbal prompts when verbal communication may not always be accessible or the best option for everybody, depending on your emergency.

Fred Fishkin  

But don’t they have to then go to the 911 dispatcher? It would seem like it’s an extra step. Obviously, it’s not, but how are you circumventing that?

Paolo Piscatelli  

So again, we streamline the information, right? When you’re on the phone with 911, you have to answer questions like what’s your closest cross street? Sir? Ma’am? On a scale of one to 10, what’s the severity of your pain? You often have to repeat the same information that you were already giving. And they do this in a triage, in a verification method, and it’s done verbally. Frank, my dad had a diverticulitis attack. Are you familiar with what that is?

Fred Fishkin  

Describe it for us, if you could.

Paolo Piscatelli  

It’s inflammation in your intestines and your lower intestines. And, you know, he was an Italian guy from South Boston. I can assure you, he’s never had a problem communicating his whole life. But during that diverticulitis attack, it was actually very difficult to communicate just simple words, in a K through five vocabulary setting. 

So, we don’t always think about what our emergencies can be like until we experience them, and sometimes it’s too late. And I can tell you this, your closest cross street, where you are, your location, those aren’t the times to be communicating with dispatchers verbally what those are, and you may not be in the right state. 

So, you need to do that ahead of time, and then just act quickly and send the same information that you would over a phone call, but do it over an instant push server-to-server through modern technology.

Fred Fishkin  

Interesting. So step us through the user experience here, the setup, and what the experience is like.

Paolo Piscatelli  

Sure, yeah, so a user would, if they choose to sign up with Rescu, enter in their personal information, their medical information, and any locational information, as well as any information that might be pertinent that would help first responders help them get the best response and safety possible. And then once you’re a subscriber of Rescu, you have your own private dispatch that’s 24/7 readily available, should you have an emergency, or should you see something with your smart home technology, where a certain threshold is met, and you need first response. 

And then it’s two taps on your screen, you choose either fire, police, or an ambulance, hit send alert, and then help is on the way. Instantly, your friends and family are notified via text message that something’s wrong and you’re having an emergency. And then the dispatch center is also queuing up your local first responders. The first responders that would actually respond to your location, whether that be through a GPS signal or an address that you’ve predetermined in the application. 

And then, from there, you can speak with a live dispatcher, if you’re able to speak. You can chat with a live dispatcher if you want to actually chat and provide dynamic details as to what’s happening during your emergency. Or, we provide an even easier way with post-dispatch questions that ask you yes or no, depending on what emergency you’ve picked. These actually come straight from the 911 queue, it’s just a much faster way to answer those through a graphical user interface.

Fred Fishkin  

Tell me about the platforms that you’re available on and the pricing.

Paolo Piscatelli  

Sure, yeah, so Rescu can be found on all your favorite smartphone app stores. So, we’re on iOS App Store for Apple, and then we’re also on the Google Play Store for Google phones. And Rescu is only $5 a month if you go with the annual subscription. 

There are other services that offer private dispatch that are in the, you know, $30, $40, $50 a month range. One of our missions is cost savings and profitability for our community. So, we offer the same dispatch at a very low-cost rate to run our private dispatch center.

Fred Fishkin  

And with the $5 a month, does that cover one individual, or who does it cover?

Paolo Piscatelli  

So, we’ve extended the Rescu subscription to work on a per household basis. So, if it was your spouse and two children, or your spouse and two parents, with one subscription, you could actually put it on multiple devices.

Fred Fishkin  

And you put it on your device, and then I assume you’d want that app on the front page of your phone…

Paolo Piscatelli  

That’s correct. We don’t like to tell people how to set up their customized settings for their smartphones, but that is one of the recommendations we do make, is to have the app as closely available to you as possible.

Fred Fishkin  

So, if I needed to use it, I tap the Rescu app, and then it’s going to come up and do and say what?

Paolo Piscatelli  

So, you tap exactly what service you’d like. So, in this case, if I say ambulance, I hit ambulance. If I want to send it to my house, I have my home already defaulted as the primary location for emergency response. And then help is being dispatched on the way depending on who my local authority is. 

So, you know, Rescu also works with GPS. So, if I happen to be in Washington, DC, and I had a medical emergency, I could also get the local responders to arrive. The other cool thing, Frank, is if I happen to be in Washington, DC, and I saw something happening to my home in Southern California, I can hit home and I can hit fire department. If my smart smoke detector detects a fire or smoke, I can send the fire department immediately to my house. 

If I were to be in Washington, DC, and call 911, I would get local Washington, DC responders and local Washington, DC dispatch, and they couldn’t help me with any needs that I would have from an emergency response standpoint in Southern California. So, there’s a little bit of a gridlock there. 

With Rescu, you can take it with you and self-monitor your home remotely, or you can take it with you and use it if you have an emergency at the location that you are.

Fred Fishkin  

So, in a sense, it can tie in with the different Smart Home Security plans that you might have?

Paolo Piscatelli  

There are more integrations on the way, but yes, in my smart home ecosystem now, if I happen to use a device that I really like that monitors a certain threat level or monitors something, and I’m self-monitoring, well, now you can self-dispatch based off of an alert or triggered event that you need emergency services for.

Fred Fishkin  

Where do people go for more info?

Paolo Piscatelli  

For more information on Rescu, you can find us on social media at Rescu Saves Lives. Or, you can go to our website, www.rescusaveslives.com.

Fred Fishkin  

And again, it’s rescusaveslives.com. Paolo Piscatelli, thank you so much for taking the time with us. 

Paolo Piscatelli  

Thank you, Fred.

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