WOOD RIVER, Neb. — The son of a fallen Nebraska firefighter is following in his father’s footsteps by becoming a firefighter.
Journal Star reported that Matt Woitalewicz will join Lincoln (Neb.) Fire and Rescue. His father, Kenny, and another firefighter died trying to save a woman in a 2004 house fire. Both were captains with Wood River’s volunteer fire department.
“I think it’s more following in his footsteps and honoring what he did,” Woitalewicz said.
He joined the Wood River department in 2013 and went to community college to study fire protection technology. He graduated in 2014 with an associate degree and worked as an intern in the Lincoln Fire and Rescue maintenance shop.
He got his badge after going through a 16-week recruit academy and a probationary period.
“It was like a giant weight lifted off my shoulders because I’d been waiting so long,” he said.
His mother, Melissa, pinned his badge during a ceremony.
“He’s got it,” she said. “He’s got what it takes.”
Woitalewicz said he tries not to let worries of the job creep in.
“It’s always in the back of my mind, of course, but I can’t let that affect my job performance,” he said.