Mother-daughter firefighters from Bluemont a first in state
By Layla Wilder
Pamela Dailey followed her dreams to become a firefighter late in life as her children watched.
Now her daughter has followed in her footsteps.
The pair – both from Bluemont and both serving with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue -- are the only mother and daughter in the state to have a career as firefighters.
When Erin Gardner graduated with 32 other recruits Aug. 1, her mother presented her with a fire helmet.
“I'm very proud of my daughter,” Dailey, a lieutenant at the Fair Oaks fire station, said before the ceremony.
Gardner, 23, said she chose the career path because she has always looked up to her mother and she wants to help people.
Gardner, who has been assigned to the Tysons Corner fire station, said she hopes to become a medic.
There are only two other mother/daughter combinations serving as firefighters together in the world, according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. One is in Knoxville, Tenn., and the other is in Wales in the United Kingdom.
Dailey grew up in Vienna near a fire station and always wanted to be a firefighter, she said.
After she became a mother, she put her career on hold until 2000 when her children were older.