Emmy Jo Herdman poses with “The Jaws of Life” at the Eleanbor Fire Department. She received instruction in use of “The Jaws” at the Putnam Career and Technical Center in Eleanor.
History was made on April 12, 1961, when the Eleanor Volunteer Fire Department came into existence. Part of that history was Joseph Fox. Fox was among the volunteers who built the fire station, block by block.
When the Eleanor VFD meets on Monday, February 3, history will be made again. Emmy Jolene Herdman, Joseph Fox’s great granddaughter, will become the first full-fledged fourth-generation firefighter on the EVFD. Emmy Jo has been a junior member of the department since the summer of 2023. Her membership status will change from junior to senior at the meeting because her birthday is February 2nd and Emmy will be 18-years-old. She will be joining her dad, Joe Herdman, who is a captain on the EVFD.
Joe is the son of former EVFD member Randy Herdman. Randy was son-in-law to Joseph Fox who gave more than thirty years of service to the department.
While continuation of her family’s service to Eleanor and the EVFD is a certainty for Emmy Jo, there is a strong possibility that she may also follow her father’s career path. Joe is employed by Kanawha County as an EMT. Emmy is a senior at Buffalo High School and is enrolled in the Putnam County Technical Center’s Firefighter/EMT program.
“Emmy is much further along in firefighting and EMT training than I was when I started out,” Joe said. “She is at least six months to a year ahead of what I was.”
When Herdman began his career, certification requirements were far less than they are today. It requires years of training to meet all of the national requirements today.
Emmy enrolled in PCTC program at the beginning of her junior year. “It was all firefighting training the first year,” Emmy stated. “The first semester of this school year was all EMT related but now, it is both. I am providing hands-on firefighting instruction to first-year enrollees.”
There are about fifteen students in the program. “The first year, it was mostly girls, but now, it is about fifty-fifty,” Emmy added.
