Former Harmony fire chief dies
For firefighters in Harmony and across the county, Neal Nanna was synonymous with reliability.
“His heart was bigger than he was,” said Kevin Behun, president of the Harmony Fire District. “He was very, very interested in making sure that people wanted to be there and were trying to advance themselves or progress in their training, in making sure that they understood what was going on and how to become better.”
A 29-year life member and former chief of the Harmony Fire District, Nanna died Sunday, Aug 28, at age 64.
At the time of the merger, officials credited Nanna, then Harmony fire chief, and Rob Reeb, Zelienople fire chief, as essential to the merger of two departments, according to a 2015 Eagle article.
Behun, who met Nanna as a child when their parents attended church together, described Nanna as “a great man,” and one of the “most reliable people” the fire company ever had.
“He was always around,” Behun said. “Because he ran a local auto body garage, he was able to be around for almost every single call that would come in. He would be able to leave his job and come out on the interstate at a moment’s notice to be there.”
Along with his work with the Harmony Fire District, Nanna was a member of the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company for four years. He was particularly involved with the 2015 merger of the Zelienople Fire Department and Harmony Volunteer Fire Company into the Harmony Fire District, Behun said.
“When we went through the merger, he was at the forefront of making sure it happened,” Behun said. “One thing many departments have is too much pride, and it can get in the way of progressing, and we set that aside to allow the merger to happen, knowing that nobody knew who would end up being the chief or running the administrative side of the department. We recognized that the best for the community was for the two groups to come together. He was actually one of the chiefs that ended up not being the chief when it was all said and done, and he still backed the merger 100%.”
“He served in, I think, every officer role there is, including the fire chief from 2011 to 2015,” said Scott Garing, current chief of the Harmony Fire District. “During his time where he was extremely active with the organization, he was there all the time, and barely missed a call or a drill. He put the place first in his life, and we definitely appreciate everything he has done.”
Nanna was “dedicated beyond most people,” Garing said.
“Him and all of the Nannas, they would do anything to help anyone at any time, even if it meant putting them out of what they were trying to do,” he said. “He would literally give you the shirt off his back.”
Nanna loved his family, sports, hunting, cars, and Pepsi, Behun said. His whole family, including his two late brothers, were involved in various first responder careers from police to EMT to firefighter.
Mike Nanna, Neal’s son and a deputy chief with Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company, described his father as an inspiration for his own interest in firefighting.
“He had a service-driven mind,” Mike said. “My dad was probably a once-in-a-lifetime kind of guy. I think that had an effect on the way he was with people.”
Family was “a bigger deal” to Neal than anything, Mike said. He described Neal as a “great leader,” and said his advice for being a good chief stuck with him.
“One of the things he always told me, was, ‘Michael, if you want to be a great chief, clean the bathrooms, wash the trucks, and clean up in the hall, and don’t tell anybody you’re doing it,’” he said. “’People will just notice and follow. Don’t ask anybody to do something you won’t do.”
Nanna is survived by his wife, Tracie A. Nanna, and his sons, Shaun Nanna and Michael Nanna, and his seven grandchildren.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, people may send a donation to the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company building fund, P.O. Box 242, Connoquenessing, Pa., 16027. A firefighter visitation is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Boyland Funeral Home in Zelienople.
