WOOD RIVER, Neb. (AP) — The son of a fallen Nebraska firefighter is following in his father’s footsteps by joining the profession.

Wood River native Matt Woitalewicz received his badge as a firefighter in Lincoln in November. His father, Kenny, died after trying to save an elderly woman in a house fire in 2004.

Woitalewicz’s father was a captain with the Wood River volunteer fire department. He said he wants to honor what his father did.

His mother, Melissa, says she wanted to make sure her son wasn’t becoming a firefighter only because of what happened to his father. She says her son has “what it takes.”

Woitalewicz says he tries not to let worries creep in, but says that’s why all firefighters train and prepare.