Kitchener startup company are helping B.C. residents breathe easier

A Kitchener tech startup is lending a helping hand to those in need dealing with the B.C. wildfires.

O2 Canada is a respiratory performance company specializing in air purification.

Peter Whitby, co-founder and CEO of the company says he and his partner wanted to create the best air pollution mask in the world and that’s why they came up with the O2 Curve.

Whitby says out in B.C. there is a severe air pollution event and the forest fires are causing so much smoke. “With this dangerous situation my co-founder really grabbed the bull by the horns and he expedited our manufacturing, shipped 250 masks out to Kelowna, and went out there to hand them out.”

Whitby says Rich Szasz handed them out to volunteers on the front line, people suffering from asthma, and those really struggling with the air quality out there.

He says the biggest response has been people in B.C. saying they are grateful. “We had four Salvation Army volunteers say they were shocked that there were people out in Ontario following this and thinking of them.”

Research for the O2 Curve masks has been underway for two and a half years at the air pollution research and innovation lab at the University of Waterloo.

Whitby says several of the engineers and industrial designers for O2 Curve masks are former BlackBerry staff.

O2 Canada has set up a Go Fund Me page so they can continue to send air pollution masks to those in need in B.C.

Kirby says so far the Go Fund Me Page has received $3,500 in donations, allowing him and his partner to send over 1,000 more masks.

To help click here.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today