Fire Service Line of Duty Death
May 1, 1965 - LODD
First Deputy Commissioner George F. Mand, 74
FDNY. Bronx, New York
Deputy Commissioner Mand died as a result of the acute heart attack he suffered while operating at a three-alarm fire.
George Farrell Mand was often affectionately referred to as "Mr. Bronx." Born there in 1891, he was President of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce from 1932 to 1950, Chairman of the Bronx County Grand Juror's Association, Director of The Park Association of New York City and was voted "Outstanding Citizen of the Bronx" in 1937. In 1942, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia said, "There is certainly no one man who has done more for the Bronx. Through his untiring efforts he has earned, and justly deserves, the distinction of being called the first citizen of the Bronx. If every citizen would be one-tenth as civic minded as is George Mand, New York would be an even finer place to live in than it is, and that's saying a great deal."
He was appointed to the position of First Deputy Commissioner of the FDNY by Mayor Robert Wagner in 1954. He served under three Commissioners. In this capacity, he was called upon to fulfill the role of Commissioner any time that person was absent. Among his departmental awards, he was an honorary member of the Naer Tormid Society and the Vulcan Society.
Commissioner Mand had the unfortunate distinction of being the first person at the level of the Commissioner's staff to give his life in the line of duty. He died of a heart attack at Bronx Box 3-3-2389 on May 1, 1965.
In a posthumous display of his love of the City and the FDNY, Commissioner Mand bequeathed a sum of money to the Department instructing it to be utilized at the Fire Academy. Therefore, on December 27, 1995, the Mand Library was dedicated to him at the New York Fire Academy on Randall's Island.
RIP. Never forget.
