Fire safety simulator and shipment of supplies heading to Tampa in wake of Hurricane Ian

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A fire safety simulator built in the northern suburbs will head down to Florida on Friday with some much needed supplies.

The simulators are used to teach firefighters and residents about fire-related hazards and fire prevention. This one was built by JHB Group, Inc., a Lake in the Hills company made up of former firefighters.

It was set to go to Florida already, but when Hurricane Ian hit, the company decided to do a little more.

They reached out to local businesses for donations, and several stepped up to donate; everything from snacks donated by Fisher Nuts to coffee from Rockford-based Fire Dept. Coffee, soda from Spirit Water Distillery, and water donated by 3M. The Carpentersville Fire Department also donated snacks and drinks.

"Last week one of our guys was like, 'Hey, why don't we do a little good, and see if they need anything.' So what we did is we reached out, and we reached out to some local people around here, and companies and stuff, and people wanted help, which was awesome," said JHB Group CEO Chris Gantz. "It's just a matter of, you know what, this is going down there for fire safety education, but again, it's got a dual purpose on its way down for the hurricane recovery."

"They had 88 firefighters' homes that were damaged or destroyed just south of Tampa. So these supplies are going to be given to those individuals, and the different crews that are helping them get kind of back on their feet," he added.

The trailer is set to leave Friday afternoon. It's headed to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue in Tampa.