Flame Away makes the world a little (fire) safer!

Something that started three years ago as a study assignment, is now available as the ‘Flame Away’, a small piece of design that fits in every household. In case of a fire throwing this glass product can be enough to extinguish it. “If I can save even one life, my goal will be reached!” says the 24-year old Max Nijman. The young entrepreneur was so deeply touched by the stories told to him during his research, that he committed everything to actually produce the Flame Away. Since the 21st of October, this life-saving product is on the market. A perfect gift.

“Testing, testing, testing, that was the most important part”, according to Max. “But now the Flame Away is ready to be placed in every room!” That is the end goal according to the student.

Study assignment
In the final year of his bachelor, he received the assignment to start a company. After watching a video about fire safety, and the lack thereof, the team of four students decided this could be a worthy subject. After finishing the minor, Max continued developing the extinguishing tool. He spent all his free time in the laboratory and was fully committed to ensuring his vision would become a real product.

Grateful
“I received much support from the Vrije Universiteit”, Max explains, “I was freely able to use the facilities and knowledge of the ‘Demonstrator Lab’ and I am also very grateful to the VU’s fire department which helped me tremendously.” In the beginning I received a great deal of help from my fellow students and now from volunteers all over the world sharing their expertise in their respective fields such as marketing and law.

Horror
Daily there are 300 household fires in the Netherlands and after hearing the horror stories of what could have been avoided, Max continued headstrong. “Because of the lockdowns the development took longer, since I wasn’t able to test with people, but thanks to that patience it gave me time to further develop it into a beautiful product!”

Flame Away
The Flame Away requires little maintenance and is easily grabbable. You can effortlessly to throw it and when used, gives little damage. “In the past there was a product like this, be it in a totally different shape. It was very toxic though”, according to Max. “The Flame Away is safe and contains no plastics; it is made of glass and easily shatters. The design of the product, that is available in red and blue, is beautiful enough to blend in into your interior.”

Passion
After the research phase, the perfecting of the design and the production of the Flame Away, Max is now ready to bring this life-saving product to the people. He is planning on doing this whilst continuing his masters. He transformed his passion for Flame Away into an actual company. “I want to make people aware of the fact that fires can be easily prevented and avoided. I want to assist people and make this world a safer place. If I can save just one life, my life purpose will be accomplished!”

Where to buy
The Flame Away can be purchased via the website: www.flameaway.nl, via bol.com and at selected retailers.

• Video Flame Away