(Photos courtesy of Stefano Spadoni – Stefano’s Network and Radio Monte Carlo)
Remarks by GEI President Lucio Caputo:
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Today I am very pleased to welcome to GEI, Hon. Daniel A. Nigro, who as many of you know, is the new Fire Commissioner of New York.
Commissioner Nigro is the son of retired FDNY Captain Daniel Nigro. A native New Yorker, the commissioner’s long career with the Department started in November 1969 in Manhattan at Engine 21 where he served as Firefighter.
He served as a Lieutenant at Engine 35 in East Harlem; in Division 14 in Queens and Engine 8 in Manhattan as a Captain; and in Battalion 19 in the Bronx as a Battalion Chief.
Upon his promotion to Deputy Chief in 1993, he returned to the field and served in Division 3 in Manhattan. A year later, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Chief and was instrumental in merging the Emergency Medical Service into the FDNY. Following the merger, he became the Chief in Charge of EMS.
In 1997, he was promoted to Chief of Operations, overseeing all operations and training for more than 14,000 uniformed Fire and EMS personnel.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, and the death of Chief Peter J. Ganci, Jr., he was appointed Chief of Department. In this prestigious position, he was responsible for overseeing all rescue and recovery operations at the World Trade Center site and the beginning of the unprecedented rebuilding of the Department.
As Chief of Department, he held the highest uniformed rank, overseeing all major uniformed FDNY Bureaus: Operations, Training, EMS, Communications and Fire Prevention.
In 2014 he was appointed Fire Commissioner by Mayor of the City of New York, Bill de Blasio. He is the 33rd Fire Commissioner in the Department’s history.
Commissioner Nigro is only the sixth individual to hold every rank in the Department in the agency’s history.
After September 11th, I had the opportunity to meet Daniel and to share with him that experience.
In all the years that have passed since then, I have come to admire his extraordinary character, exceptional leadership abilities, and, of course, his heroism.
Therefore, I am pleased to welcome Hon. Daniel Nigro and present him, on behalf of GEI, with the “GEI FRIENDSHIP AWARD” in honor of his many achievements.