Hi, I'm Tara, U.S. Navy Veteran, Fire Sister, and Founder/CEO here at FLAME.
I created FLAME when I realized that firefighters didn’t have anything that was specifically designed to remove the toxins from their hair and scalp after a fire incident. Once I realized that, I knew had to do something about it.
At the time, my family and I had just changed the mission at our small family owned business, FireMom.com, from gear and gifts to firefighter and fire family wellness. In that transition, I changed up our inventory to make sure we were carrying the right products to support our new mission and realized there was something missing.
That’s when I set out on a mission to find out as much as I could about the toxins firefighters come into contact with during a structure fire, as well as everything about natural decontamination.
Let me tell you a little something about me though. When I dig into the research – I dig deep!! From the very beginning, I was adamant that if I was going to create a product for firefighters, I was going to do it right!
So, I found out everything I could about structure fires, wildfires, toxins, carcinogens, how toxins are introduced into the body, the opportunities firefighters have to minimize exposure, and so many other things about how the process of toxin exposure.
I also dug super deep into the process of getting clean. I learned about shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I learned about what products are good for natural healing, nourishment, and detoxification, so that I could include those in our products. I learned why we don’t want to include parabens and sulfates in our products and decided we would be a company that stands firm in not including them. I also really dug into the research of activated charcoal and learned EXACTLY how it works. I'd love for you to read more about how activated charcoal works on our "What we do" page, as it's truly fascinating, but I wanted to make sure that if you purchase a product I’ve put out, that both you and I are confident that we’re doing everything we know to do to decontaminate ourselves and keep us and our families well. We both know that there aren’t guarantees in this life, but I truly believe that if we’re doing the little things every day, like replacing our shampoo and body wash with ones that remove toxins, that we can be living cleaner and healthier lives for ourselves and our families. And, I’m standing beside you in this, because my brother is a firefighter, and I have done the research myself and have worked with the scientist to develop these products that stand up to that research, to make sure I'm helping him (and you) live a cleaner and healthier life!
While my brother is a firefighter and we own a firefighter and fire family focused business, I’m also a military veteran and have worked in a multitude of different environments and know the variety of different toxins you can be exposed to when assigned to different jobs as a service member and how those jobs translate into the civilian world. So I quickly realized the need for these products in other industries – and because our products are designed to remove toxins and help you live a healthier life, I didn’t want to hold them back from other industries, so I wanted to launch as a company ready working with all industries. So, if you work with toxins on a regular basis, please know that these products were designed for firefighters, which means they’re also ready for your job and we’d love to be your daily decon.