Embattled FDNY boss Laura Kavanagh to quit following slew of controversies — with announcement coming minutes after Adams tried quelling resignation rumors

Embattled FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh is quitting her $243,171-a-year post, she told The Post Saturday.

The stunning development comes amid a slew of controversies that left some members of Mayor Adams’ administration questioning her ability to lead the country’s largest fire department.

Kavanagh, who Adams tapped as the city’s first female fire commissioner in 2022, said in an email to The Post she feels it’s “time for me to pass the torch” and explore other career opportunities. She plans to stay on the job for now and help pick a replacement, Kavanagh wrote.

“My dedication to the FDNY has never and will never waver,” she wrote. “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.

“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. I look forward to spending the next several months assisting the department’s transition in leadership, before embarking on my next professional challenge.”

Kavanagh sent the email mere minutes after Adams gave her a huge vote of confidence and tried to squash rumors her resignation was imminent.

“I love her style — I want her in my administration, whichever she decides to do,” he told The Post following an unrelated Brooklyn event. “She sat down with me some time ago and said ‘I’m looking to do some other things in my life at this moment,’ and whenever she decides to do so, she will. As long as she wants to be my fire commissioner, she will be my fire commissioner.”

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Although Adams remains supportive of Kavanagh, she’s felt plenty of heat within the administration over a slew of firestorms under her watch.

They include rising FDNY emergency-response times, surges in lithium-ion battery fires citywide, repeated criticism from underlings and an age-discrimination lawsuit filed by department honchos she demoted.

“She was a political operative – not a firefighter – so her selection [as commissioner] was always an unusual choice, and she’s been unable to do what she was brought in to do: put out political fires,” a City Hall insider said.

Kavanagh, who began her career working campaigns for ex-President Barack Obama, ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio and other Democrats, has dealt with a series of public relations nightmares since Adams named her commissioner, in part to tackle the department’s longtime struggle to diversify .

Most recently, Kavanagh came under fire from critics last month after The Post published texts she sent New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying she couldn’t “fix” the behavior of her department’s predominately male workforce.

Kavanagh made the blunt admission March 8 while apologizing to James, a day after pro-Donald Trump firefighters and other attendees booed the Democratic pol during a department promotion ceremony.

FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh pushed out after fiery controversies, including texts trashing firefighters: sources

“I should have called you last night, but I’ve been trying to find a way to say I’m sorry that doesn’t involve me apologizing for men who don’t deserve such grace,” texted Kavanagh, according to records The Post obtained from the AG’s office through a Freedom of Information Law request.

“I haven’t succeeded. I am sorry that we didn’t stop them and that I can’t fix them.”

Last month it emerged the FDNY ordered firefighters and medics to hose down political talk on the job in an internal order which read in part, “The workplace is generally not the appropriate place for political expression.”

The order didn’t define “political expression,” and FDNY officials refused to detail the policy.

Insiders said members of the Adams administration were unhappy with the texts sent to James, prompting Kavanagh to sit down with Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks on Monday.

Another meeting was on the books the next morning, but it was abruptly canceled, sources revealed.

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City Hall sources called some of the criticism of Kavanagh unfair, noting factors such as increased traffic and fewer ambulances and fire trucks on the road have impacted response times.

Once The Post broke the news of Kavanagh’s decision, the Mayor’s office issued a statement calling her a “trailblazer” who “led the department to new heights.”

The FDNY defended its record under Kavanagh, with spokesman Jim Long noting successful educational campaigns on the dangers of lithium-ion batteries.

Last year, the city had 268 fires with 18 deaths caused by the batteries, but so far this year one death, he noted.

Overall, the city’s 38 fire deaths as of July 12, are down from 70 as of July 22 last year, he said.

James Brosi, president of the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers Association, said the union looks forward to working with the new commissioner.

“An agency as dynamic and vital as the FDNY requires strong leadership that adapts to the ever-changing risks we face on the fireground,” Brosi said in a statement. “The next commissioner must immediately prioritize the plague of lithium-ion battery fires, an increase in cancer diagnoses for firefighters, and a concerning increase in fire-related deaths.”

Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association, said the new commissioner should bring back a fifth firefighter on engine companies to reduce response times.

“They will also have no choice but to take a strong stance on reversing Mayor Bloomberg’s decision to close firehouses which over time has resulted in increased response times, due to the loss of resources,” Ansbro said.

Additional reporting by Khristina Narizhnaya and Craig McCarthy

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