A Connecticut native and former Army Ranger is on a mission to save those who save us. Jonathan Norton is climbing to new heights with new equipment to help first responders.
Norton is a father of three and former Army Ranger who served in the 10th Mountain Division where he was deployed multiple times to Iraq. He also spent years training Ranger students. His life now is focused on a mission of safety.
“My mission is to protect those who are protecting and serving us every day,” said Norton, who also owns Peak Safety Systems.
“It is literally suspending me from the edge of a 90-foot cliff. That’s how much confidence I have in this equipment,” said Norton.
He’s talking about RopeSafe, an edge protection system for load bearing ropes and cables. Norton designed RopeSafe to save first responders after he came close to losing someone himself.
“It scared me. I was sitting on the edge of the cliff and this student lost his footing and he pendulumed. And the rope, our edge protector failed and the rope nearly sheered. And at that moment I responded. I reacted and fortunately, he did not fall to his death, but it was very, very close,” said Norton.
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It was a close call that pushed him to this calling of creating all kinds of life-saving gear with his company Peak Safety Systems.
“I invented RopeSafe to solve for those problems,” said Norton.
Simply put, the point of RopeSafe is to protect this rope from jagged or sharp edges and to keep our first responders safe. Already Norton has sold products to the Army Rangers, Navy Seals and Green Berets. However, making this product is the just the first part of his mission. Norton also wants to help military members in the tough transition back to civilian life.
“My goal is to employ veterans. I want to create a bridge between the veteran who is leaving active duty and entering into the civilian work force,” said Norton.
Having a hard time coming home himself, this Connecticut native wants to be that safety net for our service members. Norton is working to get grant money to fund this mission. No matter how high the climb, he’s motivated to reach this peak of success.
“If there is something I can do to make high risk professions, soldiers, first responders, military, little bit safer, actually exponentially safer, then I am all in,” said Norton.
You can follow Norton’s story on Instagram and Facebook at @RopeSafeUSA and find out more information about his mission on his website. You can also text RANGER to 428-28 to be connected to updates and alerts on the mission.
