Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
New York Post
Outgoing FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh wipes away tears during last official event with ‘sweet surprise’
By Khristina Narizhnaya, Matt Troutman,
7 hours ago
She’s going out in a blaze of glory.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh wiped away tears as an EMS promotion ceremony Friday — her last official event as fire boss — was interrupted with a surprise video that honored her historic tenure.
“I’m clearly not making through this without crying, sorry,” she told the crowd at St. John’s University in Queens.
“That was a very sweet surprise.”
Outgoing FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh wiped away tears Friday at her last public event. Brigitte Stelzer Kavanagh was caught by surprise when a video was played that highlighted her accomplishments as fire boss. Brigitte Stelzer
The bittersweet moment belied the tensions that Kavanagh, the FDNY’s 42-year-old first woman commissioner, experienced heading a male-dominated department for nearly two years.
While Kavanagh publicly said she was quitting out of a desire to spend more time with family and friends, sources have told The Post that she was smoked out during persistent clashes with FDNY brass and rank-and-file Bravest.
But bitterness was not displayed Friday during the ceremony where 49 EMS lieutenants were promoted and took their oaths.
Nearly 50 FDNY EMS lieutenants were promoted during the ceremony. Brigitte Stelzer
Chief of EMS Operations Michael Fields turned to Kavanagh and praised her for elevating paramedics and EMTs above being considered the department’s second-class citizens.
“She has been the biggest, baddest advocate for the New York City Fire Department, in particular for EMS,” Fields said. “We are truly going to miss you. I pray we are going to get somebody that cares as much as you care.”
Chief of EMS Operations Michael Fields, hugging Kavanagh here, said she elevated the status of paramedics and EMTs in the department. Brigitte Stelzer
Kavanagh told The Post afterward that the kind words and the video — which highlighted her accomplishments, including her advocacy for the EMS and fighting against dangerous lithium-ion batteries — showed the department is like a family.
“You care about everybody personally,” she said. “You worry about them like they’re your family. You fight for them like they’re your family.
Comments / 0