SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Lucas Storey has been around firefighters all his life. He grew up hanging out at the fire station with his Uncle Jeff Storey, who was and still is a firefighter with Eastside Fire & Rescue in Sammamish.
"I looked up to him my whole life," said Lucas Storey.
This week, Storey completed his graduation at the fire academy and started his first day on the job as a firefighter for Eastside Fire & Rescue Station 83, following in his uncle's footsteps.
"It's awesome, it's emotional," he said.
Eastside Fire & Rescue posted a photo of Storey on its Instagram page showing him as a young boy in a fire rig and now as an adult on his first day on the job.
"This picture captures what’s great about the fire service! The picture on the right is when a young Lucas Storey visited his uncle (Jeff) at station 71 years ago. He donned his uncle’s helmet and sat in the rig," said Eastside Fire in its Instagram post. "Today is Lucas’ first day on the line as a career firefighter with Local 2878 and Eastside Fire and Rescue. Jeff Storey is also working. It’s truly a family affair."
KING 5's Chris Cashman got to catch up with both of the Storeys on Friday.
"He's looked up to what I've done for a long time and followed in my footsteps and I couldn't be more proud of him," said Jeff Storey, Lucas' uncle.
"I'm definitely thankful for being hired I've always really liked helping people, so fire department, that's the number one thing we do is community service and helping people. Yeah, I'm thankful," said Lucas Storey.