Firefighter of the Year

Congratulations to Firefighter of the Year for 2021 Will Jacob. Jacob was recognized at the annual appreciation dinner for his dedication and leadership abilities. Will joined the department as a Bradley student in 2019 and his dedication to learn all that he could was evident. He worked very hard to advance his skills as a firefighter by attending the training offered at the fire house and also by attending many outside training exercises and classes, all while being a full-time student. He would share what he learned to the rest of the department from the trainings he attended. Jacob earned his EMT license in 2021 while attending Bradley as a full-time student. Jacob graduated from Bradley with an Industrial Engineering degree in 2021 and took a job locally so that he could continue to volunteer with the department. The education and training he received as a volunteer with West Peoria led him to a career change earlier this year. He was hired as a full-time firefighter with Roselle Fire Depart- ment, a Chicago suburb, which is near his family.