Jeff Gifford, Troy’s Firefighter of the Year, was interested in firefighting from a young age.
His grandfather was a volunteer firefighter in Pennsylvania, so Gifford was familiar with fire departments.
Gifford moved to Troy with his family when he was 4 years old and later played youth baseball, with Bob Matlick, a former Troy fire inspector, as his coach. Gifford said Matlick fueled his interest in firefighting, according to a press release.
Upon graduating from Athens High School in 1993, Gifford applied to the Troy Fire Department and was accepted as a new volunteer firefighter at Station 1 in February 1994.
His first fire as a probationary firefighter was a major one at the former Mountain Jack’s Steakhouse Feb. 22, 1994.
He has taken on many roles during his 26 years serving with the Troy Fire Department. The department created its Fire Explorer post in 1996, a young adult program of the Boy Scouts of America that introduced young men and women ages 14-20 to firefighting and rescue career fields, according to the release.