Lancaster Township firefighter to be presented with community hero award Monday

On a frigid night in February, Lancaster Township volunteer firefighter Katie Remley was at the fire station when she was alerted to a fire just a block away.

It was late and Remley had just returned from a medical assistance call. Only a skeleton crew was immediately available. Remley, Lieutenant James Logan and Captain Melvin Reyes would be the first ones on the scene.

Remley’s actions on that night would help save the life of a 9-year-old girl.

On Monday, eight months after the fire, Remley will be honored by the First Responders Children’s Foundation, an organization which supports children who have lost a parent working as a first responder.

She will be presented with a Community Hero Award and will represent volunteer firefighters nationwide in a ceremony in Times Square in New York City.

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‘As strong and determined as they come’

It took Remley and her fellow firefighters less than a minute to reach the fire at a building on Rosedale Ave which contains the Bausman Post Office and two apartments, but by that time the situation was already dire.

Fire had spread to a wooden deck, trapping a father and daughter in one of the apartments.

As the crew fought the fire from the outside, Remley pushed her way inside to search for the trapped occupants. Crawling through the superheated smoke in her breathing apparatus, Remley found the girl in a hallway with her father lying on the ground nearby. Remley called for support and firefighters from Lancaster city helped remove them from the building. The girl survived, but her father, Nathaniel Holmes, 45, was declared dead when he reached the hospital.

The First Responders Children’s Foundation credits Remley and the rest of the Lancaster Township fire crew with saving the girl’s life.

“Katie’s heroism in the face of danger reflects the spirit of volunteer firefighters, who, without hesitation, raise their hands to run toward the flames,” the Foundation said in a statement announcing Remley’s Community Hero Award.

Remley said the 9-year-old girl she helped rescue is now living in Virginia with her grandparents, who regularly send the Lancaster Township Fire Department updates on how she is doing.

In a Facebook post following the fire, Glenn Usdin, the assistant chief of Lancaster Township Fire Department called Remley, “As strong and determined as they come.”

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Spirit of a volunteer

Remley had grown up around firefighters. Her grandfather had been an assistant chief and she recalls the days where he showed her around the trucks and she watched him and his crew conducting drills.

After graduating from college, Remley decided she wanted to follow in his footsteps and joined the Lancaster Township Department in 2018.

Now, while working full time as a project manager and facilities supervisor, she has become one of the department’s most active volunteers.

Through all the tough calls, she credits the Lancaster Township department with providing a support system and a tight-knit community to support one another through challenging times.

Katie Remley 3 — Katie Remley

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“You form such a close bond with everyone,” Remley said. “Outside (of firefighting), everyone leads such a different life but you are able to connect with people really close. Everyone has your back.”

On Monday, National First Responders Day, the First Responders Children Foundation will honor individual first responders like Remley, in an effort to highlight the work of first responders nationwide. The foundation has been holding the annual event since 2018.

“We honor one person so they can stand for their entire profession,” said Jillian Crane, CEO and president of First Responders Children’s Foundation. “We’re asking everyone to recognize that these are the real heroes in their communities.”

Crane said she wants people to recognize that 70% of firefighters and paramedics are volunteers. She said the foundation wanted to recognize the sacrifices made by volunteers in this year’s ceremony.

Remley said she is surprised and honored to be representing volunteer firefighters in this year’s ceremony, but says she is just one of many trying to make a difference.

“You’re a small part of a big operation to get a job done,” Remley said. “We always say — if not me then who?”