Chief Emeritus Selby Jacobs, now an in-home patient of Blue Ridge Hospice, got his wish of one last ride in a fire truck on Thursday. Wearing his uniform and riding shotgun in the Orkney Springs Fire Engine, Jacobs was joined by his daughter, Melissa Young, his Blue Ridge Hospice care team, and members of the Orkeny Springs, Shenandoah County, and Conicville Fire and Rescue Stations.

“Our job is to leave the world a little better than we found it, and today we got to do that,” said Shenandoah County Fire Chief Tim Williams.

Chief Jacobs was hired in 1966 in Prince William County as the first Fire Marshal and was appointed Director of the Fire and Rescue Service in 1971 and then Chief of the Department of Fire and Rescue in 1989. Following 27 years of service, Chief Jacob’s retired in 1994.

Williams said, “Chief Jacobs helped past Fire Chiefs in Shenandoah County many times. He worked closely with us as we worked to get our combination fire company set up. He helped us, and now we get to help him. This is an honor and a privilege.”

“This is our ‘why’,” said Carla Rhodes, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer at Blue Ridge Hospice, “Helping to make these incredible moments possible during the final phase of life is why we do what we do.”

Jacobs family and Blue Ridge Hospice partnered with Orkney, Shenandoah County, and Conicville fire stations to give Chief Emeritus Selby Jacobs his final ride on a fire truck.