The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center elicited a large response of local emergency and rescue personnel to assist in the evacuation of the two towers,resulting in a large loss of the same personnel when the towers collapsed. After the attacks,the media termed the World Trade Center site "Ground Zero",while rescue personnel referred to it as "the Pile".
The mayor of New York City,officially Mayor of the City of New York,is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services,public property,police and fire protection,most public agencies,and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.
The New York City Fire Department,officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City,serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for fire suppression and fire prevention,and is a major provider of EMS services in New York City. Beyond fire suppression and EMS,the FDNY is responsible for a broad range of services,including technical rescue,CBRN defense,and structural collapse response and analysis. The FDNY is equipped with a wide variety of general-purpose and specialized fire apparatus to serve its varied missions.
Peter James Ganci Jr. was a career firefighter in the New York City Fire Department killed in the September 11 attacks. At the time of the attacks,he held the rank of Chief of Department,the highest ranking uniformed fire officer in the department.
The New York City Fire Commissioner is the civilian administrator of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY),appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York. There have been 34 commissioners excluding Acting Fire Commissioners,and 38 commissioners including Acting Fire Commissioners. This is since Manhattan and the Bronx consolidated with Brooklyn,Queens,and Staten Island to form The City of New York in 1898. The current Fire Commissioner is Laura Kavanagh,who had held the office since February 16,2022 as interim Fire Commissioner,but on October 27,2022,she was appointed as Fire Commissioner.
Thomas Von Essen was appointed the 29th FDNY Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on April 15,1996,and served in that position until the end of the Rudolph Giuliani Administration on December 31,2001,nearly four months after the September 11,2001 attacks.
Nicholas Scoppetta was the 31st New York City Fire Commissioner. He was appointed to that position by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on January 1,2002 and was succeeded by Salvatore Cassano on January 1,2010. He had previously served as the Commissioner of the city's Administration for Children's Services.
William Michael Feehan was a member of the Fire Department of New York who died during the collapse of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. He was the second-highest official in the department.
Martin Richard Scott was appointed the 20th Fire Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Robert F. Wagner on August 6,1964,and served in that position until the end of the Wagner Administration on December 31,1965. The FDNY has named a medal for Outstanding Courage in his honor.
Stephen Cassidy was the longest serving President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York (UFA) in its 100-year history. He was first elected to the position in August 2002 and is the only UFA President in the union's history to be elected directly out of a firehouse. In 2016,Cassidy resigned his position as UFA President to serve as the executive director of the New York City Fire Pension Fund. In 2018,following his arrest for driving while intoxicated,New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro removed Cassidy from his position as executive director of the New York City Fire Pension Fund.
Richard James Sheirer was a public servant and New York City official. Sheirer served as the Director of the New York City Office of Emergency Management (O.E.M.) from February 2000 to March 2002.
Daniel A. Nigro is the former New York City Fire Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). He served this position from 2014 until his retirement in 2022. Nigro's appointment was announced on May 9,2014,and he was sworn in on June 9.
The Vulcan Society,founded in 1940,is a fraternal organization of black firefighters in New York City.
Jacques Jiha is the Director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Management and Budget. In this role,he oversees New York City’s fiscal policy,including the development of the Expense and Capital Budgets,the City’s bond and borrowing program,and the budgets of more than 90 City agencies and related entities. As Budget Director,he will continue to help lead New York City out of the financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic through strong fiscal management. Previously,he served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance,a position he has held in the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The Bravest is a fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York City. She was commissioned on May 27,2011.
James E. Leonard is a former fire Chief of Department who was relieved of duty for alleged misconduct from the New York City Fire Department (FDNY).
Black Sunday has been used to describe January 23,2005,when three firefighters of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) died in two fires:two at a tenement fire in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx,with four others being seriously injured,and one at a house fire in the East New York section of Brooklyn. It was the deadliest day for the FDNY since the World Trade Center attack on September 11,2001,and the first time since 1918 that firefighters had died at two separate incidents on the same day.
John Sudnik is a firefighter with the FDNY,who was promoted to acting Chief of Department,the most senior uniformed member of the Department,on December 10,2018. Prior to replacing his predecessor,James E. Leonard,Sudnik had been Chief of Operations. Sudnik's acting appointment was made permanent on February 27,2019.
Laura Kavanagh,40,is the 34th Fire Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY),the first woman to hold the position. Appointed by mayor Eric Adams on October 27,2022,Kavanagh oversaw the diversification of the FDNY applicant pool,including graduating the largest group of women in nearly three decades. As a civilian,Kavanagh oversees the day-to-day operations of the largest fire department in the country with more than 17,000 employees and a 2 billion dollar budget.
Joseph W. Pfeifer is the First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). He retired as an Assistant Chief of the department in 2018 and was appointed to his current civilian role in early 2023. He was the first fire chief to respond to the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. He is also the founder of the department's Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness (CTDP).
