Herola, 18th in this event four years ago, jumped 130.5 metres, while Hirvonen went two metres further than his fellow Finn.
But with wind, technical execution and other factors all contributing to the score, Herola was awarded more points - 141.9 compared to Hirvonen's 139.3 - which put the pair in seventh and eighth place overall, respectively.
150 points for Japan's Ryota Yamamoto put him in the lead going into the 10km cross country, clear of normal hill/10km silver-medallist Johannes Lamparter of Austria and Andreas Skoglund of Norway.
Herola will begin the 10km race 32 seconds after the Japanese athlete sets off, nine seconds before Hirvonen. The cross country leg of the event is set to begin at 13:45 local time this afternoon.
Judging by their times in the normal hill event last week, those times should not discount the Finns from adding to their medal haul. The pair finished in ninth and 10th, respectively, after the ski jump with similar times to make up on the leaders in the cross country.
Hirvonen took bronze in the end, just 2.5 seconds behind gold, while Herola finished in fifth place. However, both played down their chances when speaking to the media after the jumps.
"It was the best I can do at the moment. I have to be really proud of my performance, I got to the top of both individual competitions. If it's not enough to compete for medals, there's nothing to be terribly upset about," said Hirvonen.
Herola, meanwhile, could not hide his frustrations: "That was a crappy jump, you can't get anywhere from it. It's a small catch on a big hill, it just went a little flat on the mound. It's a shame, there would have been a place to strike (for a medal.)"
