NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Wednesday marks the last day on the job for FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro, who is calling it a career after climbing the ranks within the department over a span of five decades.
The 73-year-old Queens native was first appointed a firefighter on Nov. 29, 1969, following in the footsteps of his father who served the department for 33 years.
On Wednesday, FDNY members, family, and friends gathered outside MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn as Nigro walked out of FDNY headquarters for the final time.
Nigro looked emotional as he and his wife walked between two columns of saluting firefighters.
"I've had a great run," Nigro said Wednesday. "It's been a great opportunity, but I'm going to miss everybody here in the fire department."
Ahead of his last day, New York City Mayor Eric Adams honored Nigro at City Hall with a proclamation.
"FDNY Commissioner Dan Nigro has personified the name, “New York’s Bravest” and he's done it in seven different decades," Adams tweeted Tuesday. "In our darkest hours and shining moments, Dan has been there for New Yorkers and he leaves behind a legacy of heroism that will be hard to match."
The fire commissioner also rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday afternoon.
When announcing his retirement in January, Nigro called his time as fire commissioner “the honor of a lifetime.”
“Since the day I raised my right hand 53 years ago and followed my father into the greatest fire department in the world, I have been blessed, privileged, and truly honored to serve the people of our great city,” Nigro said at the time. “On days of triumphant rescues and during times of unimaginable loss, the members of the FDNY — our firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, fire marshals, fire inspectors, and civilian staff — have always answered the call.”
Nigro is among just six people to hold every rank in the department and is the fourth-longest serving FDNY commissioner in the department's history.
Fire officials hailed Nigro for his work during the pandemic, and executing a recruitment campaign that meant the “most diverse group of applicants in FDNY history."
Nigro's first assignment after joining New York's Bravest was to Engine Company 21 in Manhattan. He then went on to serve as a lieutenant at Engine Company 35 in East Harlem, captain at Engine Company 8 in Manhattan and battalion chief in the Bronx.
He's served as chief of personnel and chief of the Bureau of Health Services, and became deputy chief in 1993, then deputy assistant chief a year later, where officials said he was among the leaders in merging EMS of NYC Health + Hospitals into the FDNY.
Nigro was appointed chief of department after 9/11, following the death of Chief Peter Ganci Jr. That meant Nigro led rescue operations at Ground Zero. He retired in 2002, but returned in 2014 as fire commissioner.
Nigro said he plans on traveling and might write a book.
First Deputy Commissioner Laura Kavanagh will serve as interim fire commissioner.
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