While leading a New York City Fire Department search team on Sept. 11, 2001, Gary Smiley was trapped in the collapse of the World Trade Center's north tower for over two hours.

Smiley, who has since re-tired from the FDNY and lives in Albrights-ville, was only one of two members of the search team to survive."I should not be here," he said. "I am here because there are other things to do."One of those things is the Community Hero and Junior Firefighter Recruitment project he is hoping to start in Carbon County communities.The grant writer and fire safety coordinator for Albrightsville Fire Department, Smiley secured a $5,000 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, which would be used to provide smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to families who most need them."We would use the grant money to buy some chocolate bars and beef jerky, which the students in our local schools would sell," Smiley said. "I would then match those proceeds with the rest of the grant money to buy the alarms and detectors."The result, he hopes, would be two-fold; get a few young people interested in the fire department and, more importantly, save a few lives."If you had 100 kids, maybe two out of 100 would be interested in the fire service, but 99 out of 100 would want to be a community hero," he said. "It would be extremely impactful for a student to look back and say, "Hey, I sold a few chocolate bars and Mrs. O'Grady down the street had a fire and her smoke detector woke her up.'"Smiley called it "preventing a preventable tragedy."StatisticsAccording to the National Fire Protection Association, three out of five home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke detectors. The death rate per 100 reported home fires is more than twice as high in homes that did not have any working smoke detectors.On average, about 170 people in the United States die every year from carbon monoxide produced by non-automotive consumer products.Where does the plan go from here?Smiley presented his plan to the Carbon Career and Technical Institute Joint Operating Committee last week and hopes to do the same for each school board in the area."I think this can be a great thing, especially for a district like ours in Panther Valley," said Michelle Markovich, Panther Valley School District board member. "Around 70 percent of our families qualify for free and reduced lunch."To determine the families who might most need a smoke or carbon monoxide detector, Smiley said he would like to use the free and reduced lunch lists or work with school districts' guidance departments."Students are also going to know of an elderly neighbor who may not have the money for these things or just thinks it won't happen to them," Smiley said. "As a firefighter, I've been in a lot of homes where the smoke alarm battery was dying or the family could only afford a few batteries and they were in the remote control or the Xbox controller."In addition to involving school districts, Smiley hopes all of the area's fire departments will hop on board."Getting everyone involved is how this is going to take off," said Rocky Ahner, Lehighton Area School District board member.Smiley's backgroundA Brooklyn native, Smiley joined the FDNY in 1986 and tallied 27 medals for heroism over the course of his 25-year career.In 1993, he responded to the World Trade Center bombing.He was awarded the Tracy Allen Lee Medal, the second highest honor in the FDNY, for the rescue of trapped civilians in a fire without a charged hose line.Soon after the first plane struck the World Trade Center, Smiley responded to the attack.While carrying a severely injured woman out of the South Tower, he was injured and burned.Smiley was trapped under the north tower rubble for over two hours and was hospitalized for over a week.His two best friends and 25 other friends died while responding to the attacks.After retiring in 2011, he served as a firefighter and paramedic for three years in North Carolina before moving to Pennsylvania.He currently gives tours one day a week at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.In addition to his service for the Albrightsville Fire Company, he is active with the Community Emergency Response Team in Carbon County."Since I retired, I've been looking for ways to stay involved," Smiley said. "I hope through this program we can encourage students to be involved in their community and hometown, and to truly make a difference in the safety of their friends and neighbors."