FDNY firefighter Joseph Herman, of Amityville, remembered as 'true hero'

The FDNY is remembering a firefighter from Amityville who was killed in a motorcycle crash on the Southern State Parkway on Sunday evening.

A wake for longtime FDNY firefighter Joseph Herman will be held Friday, from noon to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 9 p.m., at the Charles G. Schmitt Funeral Home in Seaford. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday at 10:45 a.m. at nearby St. William the Abbot Church Roman Catholic Church.

Herman, 36, served with Tower Ladder 111 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn — and, was a noted player on both the FDNY Bravest football and lacrosse teams, having been an NJCAA All-American lacrosse midfielder at Nassau Community College.

FDNY officials and the Uniformed Firefighters Association remembered Herman after the off-duty death. The firefighter's union called him "a devoted father, loving son, talented athlete, and true hero [who] will be deeply missed."

"May his memory be a blessing and may his soul rest in eternal peace," the FDNY said in an online post.

Herman was riding his motorcycle when, state police said, he was involved in a three-vehicle crash on the westbound Southern State near Straight Path in West Babylon at 7:51 p.m. Sunday.

Police said Herman was trying to change lanes when his motorcycle was involved in a collision with an Acura MDX and was thrown off the bike, then struck by another vehicle. Police said he died of his injuries at Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip.

Herman was also remembered by the lacrosse community on Long Island and in the NYPD and FDNY.

FDNY Lacrosse said in an online post, "He was more than just a teammate to us, he was a fireman who dedicated his life to protecting others, and a devoted father whose love and strength guided his family every day."

"On the field, he gave everything he had, leading with passion, grit, and heart," FDNY Lacrosse said. "Off the field, he carried those same values into his work, his home, and his friendships, inspiring all of us who had the privilege to know him."

Herman was just 3 months old when his father, NYPD Officer Jeff B. Herman, who served at the 71st Precinct in Brooklyn, was killed in 1989 after being shot, along with his partner, while responding to a domestic dispute. 

In April 2015, Joseph Herman, whom fellow firefighters knew as "Joey" or "Herm," christened a new 70-foot NYPD Harbor Unit police boat named for his father and at that time told the Daily News: "My whole life is just continuous pride and honor to my dad."

Months later, Herman officially joined the FDNY, starting at the Engine 214, Ladder 111 house on Hancock Street on Dec. 28, 2015.

A story by ESPN covering the 2021 Fun City Bowl between the NYPD Finest and FDNY Bravest football teams at MetLife Stadium in The Meadowlands noted Joey Herman wore badge number 6289 — the date his father died — on his firefighter helmet.

It also said Herman had become a firefighter not only to follow in the idea of service set by his father, but also because of his stepfather, Michael Heffernan, an FDNY firefighter who was off-duty when the terrorist attacks took place on Sept. 11, 2001, but who rushed to Ground Zero as soon as he heard the news — only to find the World Trade Center towers had fallen.

As Joseph Herman told ESPN: "I was like, 'I'm going to be a fireman. I'm going to follow in his footsteps.' "

Herman had a young daughter, and the FDNY Foundation has asked donations be made to the Joseph M. Herman Children's Scholarship Fund at fdnyfoundation.org/donate.