A California fire department held a naturalization ceremony for a Belarus-born firefighter Monday.
"It's a day that I will remember for the rest of my life," Sacramento firefighter Artur Lutsyk stated in a post on the department's Facebook page.
Lutsyk's came to the United States when he was 8 years old, and he is the first in his family to become a naturalized citizen, the department stated. Becoming a firefighter had been a goal, and he trained and volunteered for three years in the department's reserves, KOVR-TV reports.
At the end of the ceremony, which also was hosted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Lutsyk was given a challenge coin by his chief and an American flag.
“It’s a big deal it’s a big day,” he told KOVR. “The days I get to drive home—even though I might not have slept for two or three days—it’s OK, understanding I might have made a difference in somebody’s life.”
