VIDEO: Glade Spring Volunteer Fire Department announced the loss of a junior member firefighter on Tuesday night in a Facebook post.
Smythe died Monday following an unexpected medical issue, according to his mother.
Jaden Hunter Smythe, who was also a student at Patrick Henry High School, joined the department in August, the post said. He was 16 years old. Glade Spring Assistant Fire Chief Ricky Stumbo met Smythe when he was a school resource officer at Glade Spring Middle School. Stumbo invited him to apply to the junior team, and the rest was history.
“He obviously had a desire to serve,” Stumbo said. “He wanted to do law enforcement with his criminal justice, he wanted to do fire, he just got his CPR certification this week, so he was working to become a community servant.”