MESSAGE FROM THE FIRE COMMISSIONER
It has been the joy and honor of a lifetime to lead the greatest and most resilient Fire Department the world has ever known.
I have spent the last few days in the same way I started at the Department 10 years ago, sitting with members in the field and hearing their stories. From the EMS Lieutenant who is driven to provide care to patients because of how he was cared for in a medical crisis, to the line-of-duty companies and families who have shown such resilience and ensured their loved one’s memory lives on forever, the heart and spirit of our membership remains the true strength of the FDNY.
Over the decade I’ve spent with you, these conversations have been my guiding light. Hours spent at firehouse kitchen tables, EMS break rooms, hospital emergency rooms, the floor of the 911 call centers. Your stories mattered. Your feedback mattered. Your hurt and pain and joys and triumphs made it through those conversations and into the Department’s policies. It is your stories that have ensured that safety, fairness and kindness have been guiding principles for me as your commissioner and have made the victories we accomplished together possible.
I hope the contractual increases to your pay and benefits we have fought for make it easier to support your families. I believe the legislation that we’ve passed to mandate safety standards prevents future tragedies. I am confident that the technologies we’ve brought to the Department increases your safety on scene. It is my hope the changes we’ve made in personnel give you more assurance that your career trajectory is based only on fairness and merit. I am optimistic that our office of professional development can guide your careers and give you the tools to be the Department’s future leaders. I am proud that the increased funding for training, for equipment and for physical and mental health resources helps make our entire membership healthier and safer every day.
For 10 years I have had the privilege of working alongside you through countless crises and innumerable moments of heroism and triumph. The life-saving acts you perform in public are only eclipsed by the incredibly generous and selfless acts of kindness you carry out in your lives out of uniform. You’ve reinforced for me life's most important lesson - it is only our bonds to one another that really matter.
While I may be stepping out of the role of Commissioner, I will always be an advocate and champion for the men and women of the FDNY.
In the words of the indomitable Mychal Judge: “Keep supporting each other. Be kind to each other. Love each other.”
Nothing is impossible if we do it together. The history of the FDNY proves that.
With respect and gratitude,
Laura Kavanagh
34th Fire Department Commissioner
It has been the joy and honor of a lifetime to lead the greatest and most resilient Fire Department the world has ever known.
I have spent the last few days in the same way I started at the Department 10 years ago, sitting with members in the field and hearing their stories. From the EMS Lieutenant who is driven to provide care to patients because of how he was cared for in a medical crisis, to the line-of-duty companies and families who have shown such resilience and ensured their loved one’s memory lives on forever, the heart and spirit of our membership remains the true strength of the FDNY.
Over the decade I’ve spent with you, these conversations have been my guiding light. Hours spent at firehouse kitchen tables, EMS break rooms, hospital emergency rooms, the floor of the 911 call centers. Your stories mattered. Your feedback mattered. Your hurt and pain and joys and triumphs made it through those conversations and into the Department’s policies. It is your stories that have ensured that safety, fairness and kindness have been guiding principles for me as your commissioner and have made the victories we accomplished together possible.
I hope the contractual increases to your pay and benefits we have fought for make it easier to support your families. I believe the legislation that we’ve passed to mandate safety standards prevents future tragedies. I am confident that the technologies we’ve brought to the Department increases your safety on scene. It is my hope the changes we’ve made in personnel give you more assurance that your career trajectory is based only on fairness and merit. I am optimistic that our office of professional development can guide your careers and give you the tools to be the Department’s future leaders. I am proud that the increased funding for training, for equipment and for physical and mental health resources helps make our entire membership healthier and safer every day.
For 10 years I have had the privilege of working alongside you through countless crises and innumerable moments of heroism and triumph. The life-saving acts you perform in public are only eclipsed by the incredibly generous and selfless acts of kindness you carry out in your lives out of uniform. You’ve reinforced for me life's most important lesson - it is only our bonds to one another that really matter.
While I may be stepping out of the role of Commissioner, I will always be an advocate and champion for the men and women of the FDNY.
In the words of the indomitable Mychal Judge: “Keep supporting each other. Be kind to each other. Love each other.”
Nothing is impossible if we do it together. The history of the FDNY proves that.
With respect and gratitude,
Laura Kavanagh
34th Fire Department Commissioner
