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.
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),and is appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York. Prior to 1865,the New York City Fire Department was staffed by volunteers. On March 30,1865 the New York State legislature passed a law organizing the Metropolitan Fire Department as a paid firefighting force that took control of all the powers and authority of the volunteer department,as well as all the assets such as the fire trucks,equipment,and buildings. The law also created a commission to oversee the department,and for its administration and functioning. After a lawsuit contesting the constitutionality of the law was dismissed by the New York Court of Appeals,it immediately started to operate.
Thomas Von Essen was appointed the 30th 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 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.
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. 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.
Maria Torres-Springer is an American government official and former nonprofit executive who is the First Deputy Mayor of New York City. Previously the vice president for U.S. programs at the Ford Foundation,Torres-Springer was Deputy Mayor for Housing,Economic Development and Workforce,Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services and its Department of Housing Preservation and Development. She was also the president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Laura Kavanagh is an American government official who served as the 34th commissioner of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). She was 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.
Joseph W. Pfeifer is a retired American firefighter who served with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). Pfeifer served as First Deputy Commissioner of the FDNY from February 2023 until September 2024,and as Acting Fire Commissioner of the FDNY in August 2024. Prior to his civilian work in the FDNY,Pfeifer was an Assistant Chief. He retired in 2018.
