FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh To Resign: Reports

NEW YORK CITY — Laura Kavanagh, the first woman to lead the FDNY as commissioner, is planning to resign, according to multiple reports.

"My dedication to the FDNY has never and will never waver. 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 advocate for the men and women of the FDNY,” Kavanagh wrote in a message to the New York Post.

The Post first reported her resignation.

In a statement to the New York Daily News, Kavanagh said she will remain with the department for several months to help her successor.

“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 told the Daily News.

In October 2022, Kavanagh became the first woman to head the FDNY in the department's 159-year history. At the time, Mayor Eric Adams called Kavanagh an "exceptional leader" who would always have a role in his administration.

As commissioner, Kavanagh manages the agency’s more than 17,000 employees and $2 billion annual budget.

During her tenure, four demoted fire chiefs filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn court to reverse or stop what they called "retaliatory" personnel moves by Kavanagh. The lawsuit, filed in February 2023, claimed the FDNY would face an "unimaginable level of unpreparedness" if the demotions moved forward.

Sources told the Post that Kavanagh has been "clinging" to her post as members of Adams’ administration feel she’s done a poor job thwarting discontent about her leadership.

According to Kavanah's biography on the FDNY's website, she helped make "sweeping improvements to the (agency's) technology infrastructure" and "significantly increased funding for health and safety."

She also led the department’s reform efforts in the wake of a 2014 settlement of a federal discrimination lawsuit that resulted in an overhaul in how the FDNY recruits and retains members of color.