Maine Teen Creates App to Help Deaf Community Stay Safe

Gavin Phelan's ALRM app detects emergency sounds and alerts users through vibrations and visuals.

Mar. 13, 2026 at 12:21pm

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A 16-year-old high school student in Cape Elizabeth, Maine has developed a new smartphone app called ALRM that is designed to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing detect important emergency sounds like fire alarms, sirens, and gunshots. The app uses the phone's microphone to listen for these sounds and then sends immediate alerts to the user through vibrations and visual notifications.

Why it matters

Phelan, who is hard of hearing himself, recognized that people with hearing loss often have no reliable way of knowing when an emergency is happening nearby. The ALRM app aims to provide an extra layer of safety and accessibility for the deaf community during critical situations.

The details

Phelan began working on the ALRM app more than two years ago, after the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine where four deaf individuals were among those killed. He says the goal is to help protect others who face the same challenges he does. The free app is currently being used in 10 different countries, and Phelan recently traveled to Austria to present it to accessibility leaders and representatives at the United Nations.

  • Phelan began developing the ALRM app more than 2 years ago.
  • Earlier this year, Phelan traveled to Austria to present the app.

The players

Gavin Phelan

A 16-year-old high school student in Cape Elizabeth, Maine who is hard of hearing and developed the ALRM app to help detect emergency sounds for the deaf community.

ALRM

A smartphone app developed by Gavin Phelan that uses the phone's microphone to detect important emergency sounds like fire alarms, sirens, and gunshots, and then sends alerts to users through vibrations and visual notifications.

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What they’re saying

“The user may not be able to hear it, but they will feel it. If a fire alarm went off, they might not hear it. But if they get a notification on their phone, they can see it and make the right decision.”

— Gavin Phelan

What’s next

Phelan hopes the ALRM technology will continue to expand and help protect more members of the deaf community around the world.

The takeaway

Gavin Phelan's ALRM app demonstrates how innovative technology can empower and protect underserved communities, in this case by providing a critical safety tool for those with hearing loss who may otherwise miss important emergency alerts.