Faces of the Valley: Volunteering and firefighting is family affair for Lower Burrell woman

Nicole Hereda’s family quite literally is immersed in the Kinloch Volunteer Fire Department in Lower Burrell.

Hereda, 39, of Lower Burrell is a safety officer and fundraising chair at the station, located off New York Avenue in the city. Her husband, Ted, is chief, and their sons, T.J. and Josh, are junior firefighters.

Hereda — who earned the Connie Davis Service Award from the Western Pennsylvania Firefighters Association earlier this year — wouldn’t change that for anything.

“If we did not belong to this fire department, our lives would be boring,” she said. “I don’t know what we’d do without it.”

Hereda has spent nearly her whole life helping people. In her day job, she is the director of Medic 106 ambulance service in Oklahoma Borough. She has worked there for 20 years.

She has been a member of the Kinloch station for 17 years and got her start in volunteer firefighting in 2004 at the Elderton Volunteer Fire Department.

Lower Burrell Councilwoman Brandy Grieff said there is no one more deserving of the Connie Davis Service Award than Hereda.

“Her dedication to the fire service is inspiring, and her fundraising efforts are truly unmatched,” Grieff said. “She makes both look effortless.”

Hereda enjoys the fact that every day, at either her job or the fire station, is different. One thing that sticks out is that she has helped deliver three babies over the years.

“You get to be with people on the worst days of their lives and the best days of their lives,” she said. “To see people’s reaction and how you’re able to help them really does it for me.”

Volunteerism is a natural fit for Hereda, who said she has a natural gravitation toward helping people. She recalled when her grandfather, Tom Cogley, was a firefighter in Armstrong County.

“I remember going to the fire hall with him when I was younger and doing all the stuff up there,” she said.

Being a woman in a male-dominated profession sometimes comes with stigma, but Hereda doesn’t seem to mind.

“I can put gear on and fight a fire just like a guy can,” she said.

Lower Burrell has a strong history of women in the fire department. Abby Koscianski, a firefighter with Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3, won the Connie Davis award last year.

“I’m very proud to see Lower Burrell represented two years in a row with this award,” Mayor Chris Fabry said. “Lower Burrell has a growing line of female firefighters that put everything they have into the cause.

“I hope women like Nicole (and Abby) serve as an inspiration to the next generation of female firefighters.”

Hereda said she enjoys the fundraising aspect of volunteering at Kinloch and sets fundraising goals for the department. She also looks forward to the annual fireman’s carnival each summer.

“I love seeing the community come together and have fun,” she said.

Chief Ted Hereda agreed that Kinloch is more than just a fire station to his family — and the community.

“I wouldn’t know what to do without it,” he said. “I grew up in it the same way my kids did being here. I’ve been around firefighting since I was 2 years old.

“It was the way it was. My dad was heavily involved. My whole family was involved.”

Hereda said her motivation is to keep the fire department running for future generations to enjoy.

“It’s a second job paid for by gratitude,” she said.

Editor’s note: This story appears as part of Newsapalooza at Point Park University, Sept. 26-28 – celebrating local journalism in southwestern Pennsylvania. Tickets on sale now: Newsapalooza.org.