Eight years after Natasha Rivera's father, Manny, died following a rescue, she is graduating from the Trenton fire academy.
On Tuesday, Natasha spoke at the annual memorial service to remember the 23 fallen Trenton firefighters. Today she is sworn in as a Trenton firefighter.
"It's a lot right now," Natasha told told NJ.com of her emotions leading up to the graduation. "A lot of it is because of him."
Natasha was 17 when Manny fell ill after pulling a man from a Feb. 9 house fire in Trenton. During the rescue, Manny pulled off his SCBA facepiece and gave it to the victim.
Shortly after, Manny suffered a suspected heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. He was in a coma until he passed away March 31.
Natasha said she wanted to be a firefighter since she was a little girl and always looked forward to visiting her dad at his fire station.
"I love helping, helping the community," Natasha said.
