Gloucester City, NJ, Firefighter Following in Fallen Dad's Bootsteps

Graduation from a fire academy brings a myriad of emotions.

For a Gloucester City firefighter, the occasion meant more than a feeling of accomplishment and anticipation.

Nicholas Stewart is following in his father's bootsteps -- 22 years after he was killed in the line of duty while trying to rescue three children.

Thomas Stewart and two other firefighters were attempting the rescue when the house collapsed. All were killed, according to 6abc. 

He was six months old at the time, and his father had proposed to his mother the day before.

 "I tried college. I tried a couple different jobs. [It] led me to the point I knew this was what I really wanted to do and where my heart was at," he told a reporter. 

The third generation firefighter reported for duty Tuesday morning.