When the Smoke Clears

“When a man becomes a fireman his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work.” –Edward F. Croker

There is perhaps no greater call than that of the decision to be willing to go out and meet danger for the benefit of others, be it service in fire or police departments, the military, or otherwise.

Greater yet, perhaps, is not only the sense of duty, but also the decision to fulfill that calling with each new day.

There is a breed, however, that when the smoke clears, they are ready and willing to meet danger again, should the need arise.

One such individual is Buffalo’s own Lora Nichols.

Lora Nichols

You probably have seen Lora Nichols more than you have recognized her, given that she is a woman who wears many hats, proverbially speaking. In reality, though, she has worn many different uniforms, all which really do include headgear.

She can attest to that, personally. “It’s really true,” she said. “I’ve worn many uniforms and carried many different titles.”

Nichols, a long-time Buffalo resident, has served in just about every commonly-known branch of public service. She just retired from the Buffalo Fire Department in August, has served on the Buffalo Police Reserves for two years now, is a four-year Navy veteran, and a six-year National Guard ammunition specialist.

Many times, these career paths are in themselves just that: individual careers. Many dedicate their lives to one specific avenue of public service, with perhaps some eventual overlap. However, for one person to be actively involved in all these areas is rare – and to enjoy them all immensely? That is an entirely different ballgame.

“This is just a part of who I am,” Nichols explained. “I love this kind of work. It is fulfilling. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

Nichols, born and raised in Buffalo, raised her two girls in the area. Her family still remains active in the Buffalo area, a fact of which she is proud. They continually inspire her to continue her service, in many different ways.

From Navy woman to Firefighter

“I come from a strong military family,” Nichols shared. “It was natural to want to join the military, and I followed right along in those footsteps with joining the Navy.”

Nichols signed with the United States Navy for four years, during Desert Storm.

While she never saw active combat, she served as a machinist’s mate. She recalls clearly that she missed the “big snowstorm” of Halloween night, 1991, while finishing boot camp in Orlando.

“I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do when I signed with the Navy,” she said. “This was a route for me to begin my life, and I didn’t know what it would lead to. We had fire training in bootcamp, and I really enjoyed that. I suppose it helped me arrive at the decision to join the fire service.”

After her discharge from the Navy, Nichols moved back to Buffalo, and joined the Buffalo Fire Department (BFD) shortly after. That would lead into an almost 22-year career with the fire service, in which Nichols credits so much of her experience from.

“I think when you’re a woman on the job with the fire service, there’s a lot stacked against you,” she commented. “Honestly, it wasn’t always easy. You don’t always get treated the same, or respected enough. But, despite that, I can honestly say I loved my time with the department. I have so much respect for that house.”

Nichols is the first woman to retire from BFD, a fact that she is both proud of and honored to be. Her two decades with the unit has allowed her to speak into “so many” lives as a person of influence, and the job has given her many opportunities to mentor and encourage women and young girls to consider working in a male-dominated career.

“I think my success with that house [BFD] stems from the fact that you really need both sexes in these kinds of fields,” she shared. “There’s something to be said for a woman’s intuition. I brought things to the job that the other guys couldn’t; many times, people felt more comfortable talking to me, for whatever reason. I honestly think the job benefits greatly by having both [men and women] involved.”

Perhaps what set Nichols apart the most from her coworkers, by her own admission, was the fact that she is highly sentimental. “During fires, I was thinking about people and what they will miss when the smoke has cleared,” she recalls. “I tried hard, over my career, to rescue as many photographs and personal memorabilia as I could, because they are irreplaceable as well.”

She recalls that years ago, in a desperate attempt to save whatever items she could from a local fire, Nichols had absentmindedly saved a shadowbox from destruction. However, she had no idea that the shadowbox housed items belonging to an Olympic athlete who had died tragically, and was one of the family’s most cherished reminders.

“It is moments like that [the shadowbox] that reaffirms that you’re doing the right thing and doing the job well.”

Over the years, it stands to reason that Nichols would come across some wise pieces of advice from those predecessors who have gone before. And she did, taking advice from veteran firefighters, chiefs, and coworkers who had a lot of experience, and much advice to give.

One specific piece of advice came from Fire Chief Byron Bonk, regarding prioritizing one’s involvment with family and the firehouse.

“He told me that God always comes first, then family, and then the department,” she shared. “If you don’t prioritize those things, everything else in your life gets messed up. He told me to work hard to keep my priorities staright; I’ve never forgotten that piece of advice.”

Just as she’d received advice, Nichols would eventually have her own advice to give as her career expanded.

A Woman in Blue

In 2017, Nichols decided to expand her sphere of service into Buffalo Police Department’s (BPD) Police Reserve. She was actually approached by Police Chief Pat Budke while leaving the firehouse, in the alley near both buildings.

“It’s not entirely how you’d expect to be asked,” she remembers with a chuckle. “Being approached by the Chief in the back alley is funny when you think about it. But, in all seriousness, I was so honored to be considered, and so blessed that he asked me. It has been one of my greatest decisions.”

While still active with the fire service, expanding into the BPD was a “true gift” for Nichols. Now, she works events in handling crowd control, goes on patrol, and serves the community in more of a public eye than she ever had before, a fact that “takes getting used to.”

“With the fire department, you are really always the hero whenever you’re called,” she recalls. “People know you because they need you. However, when you’re on the Reserve, you’re more in the public eye, so people see a lot more of you maybe without knowing your name. It’s a very different job, but in many ways, it is the same.”

Being a Reserve member also, occasionally has Nichols working with people who are facing what may perhaps be the most difficult day of their lives; a job that Nichols understands well, coming from working fires for two decades. Both veins of work demand a certain level of compassion and understanding of the human condition; understandings that Nichols feels she has learned well throughout her career.

Perhaps one of the biggest of many impressions of being a Reserve member left on Nichols is the support from fellow officers. Regularly, Nichols rides with other female reserve volunteers, which is a change from her time in the fire department.

“Many of these Reserve volunteers are long-time women on the job,” she said. “Their support is endless, and I am so appreciative of that. In the firehouse, many women came on the job, but not many last even a full year. To see more women fulfilled their drive for service is so inspirational.”

The Guard

Taking another leap into public service was Nichols’ signing with the National Guard. At 40 years old, Nichols joined the Army National Guard and became an ammunition specialist, a job she would fill for six years.

“My time in the Guard was so wonderful,” Nichols inserted. “And I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I already had good life experience in the kind of jobs that demand a strong set of shoulders. My experience cultivated a compassion that carried over into my service with the Guard, and it fostered many relationships with those who are my second family. I got to mentor so many people; it is a profound honor. Almost everyone called me ‘Momma Nichols.’ That was my rank. I was a Momma first to some of those individuals.”

Profoundly different than her time in the Navy many years before, Nichols’ love for the Guard is deep-seeded. She still maintains many of the relationships she cultivated during her service, and she credits her nurturing spirit to her time in the Guard, where it really thrived in her care for others.

What is perhaps the most telling to Nichols’ character is that despite all her avenues of service, she has been a single mom. After divorcing in the Navy, she learned to lean on her family and friends, who helped raise her girls, Alexis and Becca.

“You need to have a strong support system when you work in these high-stress jobs,” she explained. “People need to have your back. I am so thankful I have that network of people who helped me. If ever I was called, I could take my girls to a safe place and do my job. I am profoundly grateful for that.”

 Looking back to her years in public service, Nichols shared that the jobs she has served in really require not only a spirit of compassion and heart to serve, but also, a mutual respect and listening ear. “You cannot do these jobs effectively if you aren’t willing to listen and meet people where they are; give them the respect you yourself desire. If that doesn’t happen, there is a gap that forms between those who work in first responding and victims. That gap grows bigger if we refuse to listen.”

Now that the smoke has cleared and Nichols has retired from fire service, she spends her days, again, wearing many different uniforms. She is still active with the Police Reserves, and does “a little of everything” everywhere around the area.

However, she looks most forward to the birth of her first grandbaby, where she will get to be a fully-invested, full-time grandmother.