Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, the first woman ever to lead the New York City Fire Department, is resigning her post, amNewYork Metro confirmed on Saturday.
The New York Post first reported on July 13 that Kavanagh sent them an email Saturday notifying them of her decision. Kavanagh made history in 2022 when Mayor Eric Adams tapped her to lead New York’s Bravest, making her the first woman to take charge of the department with more than 11,000 firefighters and thousands of other emergency services personnel and paramedics responsible for saving lives every day.
The Fire Department confirmed Kavanagh’s decision in an email to amNewYork Metro that included a statement from Kavanagh in which she expressed gratitude for the opportunity to head the FDNY.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to devote the last 10 years — five as first deputy commissioner and more than two as commissioner — to advocating for the men and women of the FDNY,” Kavanagh said. “While the decision I have made over the last month has been a hard one, I’m confident that it is time for me to pass the torch to the next leader of the finest Fire Department in the world.”
According to the New York Post, Kavanagh indicated she would be part of the transition process over “the next several months … before embarking on my next professional challenge.” She also thanked Mayor Adams “for the opportunity” to lead the Fire Department.
For his part, Mayor Adams lauded Kavanagh’s efforts to “usher in sweeping improvements to the FDNY’s technology infrastructure; increased funding for members’ health and safety, including for cancer reduction and mental health counseling; and overhauled how the FDNY recruits and retains members of color, leading to the most diverse Fire Department in our city’s history, while simultaneously tripling the number of women serving as firefighters.”
The mayor indicated that Kavanagh’s decision was hers, and that she will remain on top of the Fire Department until a successor is found.
“Commissioner Kavanagh has dedicated her life to keeping New Yorkers safe and while we’ve made it clear that she could have kept this position for as long as she wanted, we respect her decision to take the next step in her career,” Mayor Adams said. “We thank her for every minute she has given to running the greatest Fire Department in the world. To be clear, though, nothing changes today. Commissioner Kavanagh still leads New York’s Bravest and has agreed to continue to do so until we find an appropriate replacement. Once that person is found, she or he will have big shoes to fill.”
Kavanagh became the interim Fire Commissioner in March 2022 following the retirement of her predecessor, Dan Nigro. Mayor Adams finally removed the interim label from her title in October 2022; it was a historic moment in the city’s history, as for the first time, both the Fire and Police Departments were led by women (Keechant Sewell, at the time, was police commissioner).
During her tenure, Kavanagh increased public awareness efforts regarding the dangers of lithium-ion batteries, which have been linked to numerous deadly fires across the city. She also led efforts to diversify the FDNY rank-and-file; earlier this year, she launched “All Heroes Welcome,” a citywide campaign to recruit New Yorkers of every background to join the company of lifesavers.
But Kavanagh also ran afoul with FDNY brass during her first few months as their boss. In January 2023, she demoted three high-ranking chiefs who failed to show up for a meeting at the FDNY’s headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn, leading to two other chiefs turning in their resignations in protest. The demoted chiefs, in turn, sued Kavanagh and the city for discrimination; the commissioner insisted that she made the changes in order to install her own team.
This past spring, Kavanagh also drew heat from some firefighters when she apologized on the department’s behalf to state Attorney General Letitia James after a number of firefighters jeered her at a promotion ceremony.
