First mover advantage for Cork start-up Firemole

Sean O’Tuama, founder, Firemole

A faulty fuse that could have caused a fire at his parents’ home proved the inspiration for Seán Ó Tuama’s Cork-based start-up Firemole.

An electrician by trade, Ó Tuama established the company in September 2016 to develop a temperature sensing alarm for homes and businesses. Attached to devices like chargers, baby monitors, routers and TV boxes, the patent-pending device monitors surface temperature, sounding an alarm if it tops 54C.

“While I was working ...