Chief Eleanor W. Byrd
Training Division

Eleanor W. Byrd is the first woman in the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD) to rise through the ranks and hold the position of Division Chief. Mayor John Peyton appointed Byrd as Chief of the Fire Training Division in September 2006, and in November 2010, Byrd was selected to lead JFRD's Rescue Division. Mayor Alvin Brown appointed her to head the Training Division on Dec. 21, 2011.

In her previous term at the Training Academy, Byrd ensured that JFRD personnel received the continuing education and state-mandated requirements that paramedics and EMS providers must meet. At the request of Dan Kleman, JFRD's former director/fire chief, Byrd also was responsible for implementing JFRD's Professional Growth and Development Plan. This program continues to offer the department's field supervisors and rank and file personnel with a curriculum that encompasses progressive managerial training and a broad range of courses that relate to all aspects of the ever-evolving fire service.

Byrd is also proud of cultivating and refining the Training Academy's fitness assessment program, which continues to gain momentum as more uniformed personnel see first-hand the benefits that their peers are gaining from attention to good nutrition and exercise.

Byrd joined JFRD in 1991 as a Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician assigned to Station 12 in the St. Nicholas area. She served one year there before transferring to Station 4 in downtown Jacksonville. In 1994, Byrd earned a promotion to Engineer and transferred to Rescue 41 in Mayport, where she remained until a 1997 transfer to Rescue 4. In 1998, Byrd was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to Rescue 2 in Springfield. She became the first female Jacksonville firefighter to be promoted to Captain in 2003. She remained at Rescue 2 until late 2004, when she took over the administrative training coordinator responsibilities at the Training Academy.

Byrd earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of North Florida in 1994. In addition, she received certifications as a paramedic and hazardous materials technician.