While growing up in northern Illinois, Clayton Tuma became interested in being a firefighter through his father.
"My dad was a volunteer firefighter," Tuma said Wednesday morning during a day off from the Owensboro Fire Department. "It grew from there, and the more I got involved, the more I enjoyed it."
After serving as a volunteer firefighter in Illinois, Ohio County and then Daviess County, Tuma joined OFD in 2012. On Tuesday night, Tuma was named the city's firefighter of the year.
City Fire Chief Steve Mitchell said firefighters are nominated by the department's command staff and voted on by the firefighters.
"We feel it's more of an honor if their peers choose them," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said Tuma and fellow firefighter of the year nominees Jordan Thomas and Lt. Brian Roberts "exemplify the core values" of the department.
"They are good mentors for the six (new firefighters) we swore in last night," Mitchell said.