They've signed a contract that calls for production of 200 test-market units of the invention before it becomes a retail product.
    
"Most folks look at it and after you explain it to them a couple of times, they say, 'we should have been doing that for years,'" said Nash.

This "not-very-high-tech" device is a product Nash came up with after his experiences in smoke-filled structures.

"It doesn't take much to get separated from your crew or your hose line... so what we needed to do was devise some type of device that would reorient you to where you're at inside the building," said Nash.

They went through several prototypes reported ONN's Brian McIntyre.

The current version not only lights up and indicates which way is north, but also can help firefighters know how the building is situated.

Nash knows first hand that it doesn't matter how big a building is, it can be easy to get lost in the smoke.

"I was in a closet that had four doors on each side, and I hit my head on a chair and I was all turned around and I thought, I'm gonna die in a hair salon... this is ridiculous. So it doesn't take much to get screwed up in a fire," said Nash.

With the help of some government loans and a non-profit group, Steve's new company (Halcyon Products) is set up in Cleveland.

"It comes down to, if it saves one life throughout the cycle of it, it was worth everything we put into it.  All the sweat all the gray hair we've gotten, it will have been worth it," added Nash.

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