STARK COUNTY, Ohio — A group of students at Jackson High School launched a business with the goal of helping keep community members safe.
In March, a fatal housefire claimed the lives of four people, including two students in the Jackson Local School District. Now, high schoolers are creating fire safety kits through their company, FlameGuard, in the hopes of preventing another tragedy.
The business is being built through the school's Junior Achievement program, which encourages entrepreneurship. At the beginning of this academic year, students came together to create the company and produce the kits.
Each kit is contained inside a small duffel bag and includes heat-resistant gloves, a fire blanket, a smoke detector, masks, fire extinguisher, burn gel, and information on how to use it all. Kits that are meant for multi-story homes also come with a safety ladder.
"House fires are a lot more common than people really think," CEO Justin Lackey, a senior at Jackson High School, said. "It could be you, it could be your neighbor that's in a house fire. You just want to make sure you're prepared. You definitely don't want to be caught without these items in event of a house fire.”
"We've actually sold, at this point, over 60 kits," CMO Matt Smith, a junior, added. "And that's great and all, but it's so great knowing there are so many potentially saved lives from selling those."
The March blaze killed adults Jeff and Talina Hawk as well as middle schoolers Javen and Amelia. Jackson Township Fire Chief Tim Berczik tell 3News the cause of that fire is still undetermined.
At the time, Jackson Superintendent Chris DiLoreto put out a statement that read, in part:
"Our staff and students at Jackson Memorial Middle School are mourning the loss of two students and their parents. Relationships between our staff, our students, and our families are the very core of the foundation for building a strong educational partnership. Ameila Hawk was a seventh-grader and her brother, Javen, was a sixth-grader. Both Ameila and Javen had infectious smiles. They were loved by their classmates and they will be greatly missed at JMMS."
"These kids took something that was very negative and they're making something positive out of it," Berczik says now of the students behind the fire safety kits. "So if we can learn and grow, I'm all for it."
Berczik says the students came to the fire department to discuss what items would be helpful in case of a fire, and from there, they assembled the kit.
"This young group taking on this project, it's huge for them, but it's really huge for the community," Berczik stated. "We're really proud."
Junior Achievement teacher Shawn Donaldson is also proud of the work his students have put into this.
"Getting a chance to see another side of the students when they're actually really passionate about something and how driven they are, it blows me away, every time," he said.
Donaldson noted that the students work on the business outside school hours, as well, including late nights and weekends. He says one student was even up until 2 in the morning packing the kits this weekend.
For the students, the hard work is worth it.
"I would never want to see my family go through something like that family had to go through," Smith mentioned. "Just having that peace of mind, knowing that you're protected with fire safety items, is really important."
The one-story fire safety kit, which does not include a ladder, is sold for $69.99. The two-story kit, which does include the ladder, is $129.99. The kits are available for sale on the group's website, where you can also purchase items separately. They also have Facebook and Instagram pages for their products.
According to Lackey, the money from the kits goes back to the student-run team, which uses the money to pay for their website and shipping kits. At the end of the year, they also plan to make a charitable donation.