The Leary Firefighters Foundation (LFF) provides funding and equipment to fire departments throughout the United States.
On December 3, 1999, six firefighters in Worcester, Massachusetts were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse fire, a massive fire set by squatters. Among the dead was the cousin of comedian Denis Leary, Firefighter Jerry Lucey, and his close childhood friend, Lt. Tommy Spencer. In response, the comedian founded the Leary Firefighters Foundation, which has since distributed over $2.5 million (USD) to fire departments in the Worcester, Boston, and New York City areas for equipment, training materials, and new vehicles and facilities, since its creation in 2000. As of 2006, the LFF has donated $425,000 to the Boston Fire Department, including a fireboat. [1]
As the foundation's president, Leary has been active in all of the fundraising, and usually presents large checks and donated equipment personally. The close relationship he has developed with the FDNY, as well as individual firefighters across the New York/New England area, has resulted in Leary's most recent television show, Rescue Me , a drama-comedy on FX about firefighters. In the pilot episode of the show, he is seen wearing a Leary Firefighter Foundation 9-11 memorial T-shirt.
A separate fund run by Leary's foundation, the Fund for New York's Bravest, has distributed over $2 million (USD) to the families of the 343 firemen killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as provided funding for necessities such as a new mobile command center, first responder training, and a high-rise simulator for the New York City Fire Department's training campus.
After Leary learned that the New Orleans Fire Department members rescued 18,000 people from Katrina waters using NOFD members' personal boats, the Leary Foundation committed money to help purchase rescue boats for the NOFD. Of the 33 firehouses in New Orleans before the hurricane, at least 20 were so damaged by the disaster that they were unusable—yet firefighters stayed on the job—even when they had to sleep in their rigs, because their own homes were also damaged. The Leary Foundation is committing more money and resources to further address some of the myriad needs of the NOFD and the people they serve.
Denis Colin Leary is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV and through the stand-up specials No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). Leary began taking roles in film and television starting in the 1990s, including substantial roles in the films Judgment Night (1993), Gunmen (1994), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) and Wag the Dog (1996).
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also animals from dangerous situations. Male firefighters are sometimes referred to as firemen.
A fire department or fire brigade, also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression services.
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive/hazardous materials response services and emergency medical response services within the five boroughs of New York City.
A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond to emergency calls for long periods of time, and are summoned to the fire station when their services are needed. They are also expected to attend other non-emergency duties as well.
A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment. Older designs derived from tugboats and modern fireboats more closely resembling seafaring ships can both be found in service today. Some departments would give their multi-purpose craft the title of "fireboat" also.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state Victoria, Australia. CFA comprises over 1,200 brigades organised in 21 districts, and shares responsibility for fire services with Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), which employs full-time paid firefighters in major urban areas; and Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV), which manages fire prevention and suppression on Victoria's public lands. CFA operations and equipment are partly funded by the Victorian Government through its Fire Services Levy, and supplemented by individual brigades' fundraising for vehicles and equipment.
SMURD is an emergency rescue service based in Romania. The name is the Romanian acronym for "Serviciul Mobil de Urgență, Reanimare și Descarcerare", which means Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication. It was created and has been coordinated since its inception by doctor Raed Arafat. The first SMURD unit was created in Târgu Mureș, a city in the center of Transylvania, in 1990. One of the notable co-founders is a Romanian Firefighter Lt. Col. Mircea Pintilie who coordinated the activity between firebrigades from the three countries, Romania, Norway and Great Britain.
Robert John Burke is an American actor known for his roles in RoboCop 3 (1993), Tombstone (1993), and Thinner (1996). During the 2000s Burke became well known for his portrayal of Mickey Gavin on Rescue Me (2004–11), Bart Bass in Gossip Girl (2007–12), Ed Tucker in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (2002–20), and a number of other film and television roles including Netflix Intrusion (2021).
The Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire began on December 3, 1999, in a 93-year-old abandoned building at 266 Franklin Street, Worcester, Massachusetts. The fire was started accidentally some time between 4:30–5:45 pm by two homeless people who were squatting in the building and had knocked over a candle. They left the scene without reporting the fire. The 6-story building, previously used as a meat cold storage facility, had no windows above the ground floor and no fire detection or suppression systems. The fire, which started on the second story, burned undetected for 30–90 minutes.
The Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service covering Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the West Midlands region of England. The service covers an area of 1,514 square miles (3,920 km2), and a population of around 780,000 people.
The Boston Fire Department provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It also responds to such incidents as motor vehicle accidents, hazardous material spills, utility mishaps, floods, explosions, and construction accidents.
Thomas Michael "Tommy" Gavin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the FX television series Rescue Me. He is portrayed by Denis Leary. For his portrayal, Leary was nominated for the Golden Globe Award (2005) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. The character's name was created by Denis Leary and Peter Tolan, after Leary met a Bronx police officer named Tommy Gavin.
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue (LFR) is the statutory fire and rescue service serving the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands Region of England. This does not include North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, which are covered by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.
Firefighting in the United States dates back to the earliest European colonies in the Americas. Early firefighters were simply community members who would respond to neighborhood fires with buckets. The first dedicated volunteer fire brigade was established in 1736 in Philadelphia. These volunteer companies were often paid by insurance companies in return for protecting their clients.
The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1797 and established in 1859, the Baltimore City Fire Department covers an area of 81 square miles (210 km2) of land and 11 square miles (28 km2) of water, with a resident population of over 640,000 and a daytime population of over 1,000,000. The BCFD responds to approximately 235,000 emergency calls annually. There are two International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) locals; IAFF 734 for firefighters and IAFF 964 for officers.
The Worcester Fire Department (WFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. The department serves an area of 39 square miles (100 km2) with a population of 183,000 residents.
The Rescue and Fire Unit N°1 is a fire station located in downtown Bydgoszcz, at 16 Pomorska street. The building is registered on the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Heritage List.
The city of San Rafael, California, purchased a fireboat, they named Confidence, in 2016. The 27 feet (8.2 m) boat, built in 2003, was purchased for $50,000, from San Juan Island, Washington, by the San Rafael Fire Foundation, a local charity. The Foundation then donated the vessel, to the city.
A Special operations firefighter, also known as Fire Service Special Operations, is a specialist firefighter who has been specially trained to execute tasks other than standard firefighting operations. The National Fire Protection Association's Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments defines special operations as "Those emergency incidents to which the fire department responds that require specific and advanced training and specialized tools and equipment". The NFPA 1710 further defined special operations as "Special operations include water rescue, extrication, hazardous materials, confined space entry, highangle rescue, aircraft rescue and fire fighting, and other operations requiring specialized training".