firebeetle esp32 board - unable to upload sketch

I have received my firebeetle board and setup the esp32 environment. I have connected the board to my MAC computer, selected the Firebeetle-ESP32 from the list of boards, selected the correct port /dev/cu.usbmodem1421. I selected a blink sketch using Arduino ide. i have been able to compile this sketch but when i attempt to upload the sketch it fails to upload and i get the following message.

A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header

It appears not to go into download mode preventing uploading of sketches.

How to resolve this issue?

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esptool.py v2.1
Connecting........_____....._____....._____....._____....._____....._____....._____....._____....._____.....____An error occurred while uploading the sketch
_

A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header

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