Laura Kavanagh, the FDNY’s first woman fire commissioner who had repeatedly butted heads with the department’s chiefs, announced Saturday that she is stepping down.
“My dedication to the FDNY has never and will never waver,” Kavanagh said in a statement Saturday. “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 she will remain with the department for several months to help the city’s new fire commissioner get up to speed.
“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,” she said. “I look forward to spending the next several months assisting the department’s transition in leadership, before embarking on my next professional challenge. Thank you Mayor Adams for the opportunity you gave me and for your continued support of me and the FDNY.”
Kavanagh was made fire commissioner in 2022, replacing outgoing Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
She almost immediately ran afoul of the department’s high-ranking chiefs on how she wanted to run the department. Several chiefs are currently suing her for ageism.
Mayor Adams has yet to name a replacement.
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