Kyle Zwiesdak was dedicated to his family and his firefighter brethren. But he held a special place for the junior firefighters he oversaw with the Coaldale Fire Department.

“He was determined to help us, and wanted to help people in general,” said Kaylee Gilbert, a junior member of the Coaldale Fire Department.

After Zwiesdak died unexpectedly last year at age 32, his family wanted to find a way to carry on that legacy. They decided a scholarship for junior firefighters would benefit not only the young volunteers themselves, but also the whole community.

This graduation season, Kyle’s family awarded the first Kyle Zwiesdak, Captain 4092 Coadale Fire Company Scholarship. The scholarship honors active members of a fire or rescue organization in the Panther Valley area who show dedication and commitment to the community.

“At Coaldale he helped train the junior members for many years, and I figured, what better way of giving back,” said Lynne Stawiarski, Kyle’s mother.

Kyle became a junior firefighter at age 14, the minimum age.

But long before that, Stawiarski knew her son wanted to be a firefighter. When he was just 5 years old, Zwiesdak would watch the firefighters train near their home in Summit Hill.

“We would have to sit on the bench and watch fire practice every Thursday. One day Louie Mitchalk gave him a ride in the firetruck, and that was it, he was hooked,” Stawiarski recalled.

Once he joined, he was a committed volunteer for the rest of his life - first for Summit Hill and later for Coaldale.

It wasn’t until his funeral that Stawiarski fully realized how much her son meant to his fellow firefighters, and how close their community is. Seeing the parade of firetrucks that showed up outside of the funeral home and the respect they paid to her son was something she will never forget.

“It was just an honor. They are an impressive group of people, they really are,” she said.

She knew she wanted to do something to keep his memory alive in a way that he would approve of, so she set up the scholarship. The first two $500 awards were funded directly by the family.

Unlike some scholarships, the recipients can use the money to cover expenses related to their fire service, such as training workshops, or buying their own personal firefighting equipment.

For the first two recipients of the award, they chose two junior firefighters from Coaldale Fire Department, Gilbert and Brennan Rupert. They both trained with Kyle.

Gilbert was shocked when she found out she won the scholarship during her graduation ceremony at Nativity BVM in Pottsville. She said she will use it toward her education at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, where she will also play soccer.

Gilbert said that Zwiesdak was always willing to help during practice and live fire training. And though she was the only junior firefighter who was a girl, he treated her with the same respect as every other junior or adult member of the department.

“He is dedicated. He is one of the nicest people I have ever interacted with,” she said.