A.C. Reynolds freshman helps Fairview prepare for future disasters

When Hurricane Helene knocked out power and disrupted communications in Fairview, A.C. Reynolds High School freshman Chloe Button saw a gap that still matters to Buncombe County: neighborhoods needed a backup way to stay in touch when phones and internet went dark.

Button turned that lesson into emergency communication packs for the Fairview Fire Department and nearby churches, giving local gathering points a practical set of tools for the next storm. The packs are designed to include radios, chargers, flashlights and other emergency supplies, equipment meant to keep volunteers, church leaders and residents connected when cell service is unreliable or electricity is out.

She was honored on Sunday, May 24, for earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. In North Carolina, Gold Award work is open to students in grades 9 through 12, and Button’s project fit the standard in a very local way: it addressed a real public-safety problem in a place that has already lived through it.

That history is still raw in Fairview. Helene’s landslides killed 13 people in the Craigtown and Garren Creek communities, including Fairview Volunteer Fire Department Battalion Chief Tony Garrison and his nephew Brandon Ruppe. Garrison died on Sept. 27, 2024, while responding during the storm, a loss that made the department’s role in recovery and preparedness even more visible across the community.

Buncombe County has also had to adjust how it shares information during major emergencies. During the state of emergency caused by Helene, the county modified its website homepage to make disaster-related content easier to load on devices with limited bandwidth or weak connections. The county still maintains Helene recovery resources and updates for residents, a reminder that communication itself became part of the recovery effort.

Button’s project fits that same reality, but on a neighborhood scale. Churches often become staging areas, shelters or information hubs after severe weather, and volunteer fire departments are usually among the first places residents turn when roads are blocked or service is down. By placing communication packs where people already gather, Button created something Fairview can use now, not just in theory.

In a county still measuring the long aftermath of Helene, the project shows how one student can build a tool that strengthens the next response before the next storm arrives.