FDNY Names Leonard Chief of Department

Oct. 29, 2014
Veteran FDNY chief James E. Leonard will become the new chief of department Saturday, overseeing 15,000 uniformed members.

New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro announced that James E. Leonard is the new Chief of Department, the highest ranking uniformed position in the FDNY.

Effective Nov. 1, Leonard will oversee the 15,000 uniformed firefighters and EMS personnel. 

He replaces Chief Edward S. Kilduff.

“Chief Leonard’s exemplary service as a firefighter and fire officer, along with his extensive field experience and leadership as a chief officer and incident commander, makes him a great choice to serve as Chief of Department,” Nigro said. “I am confident he will work hard to improve our fire and EMS operations, while ensuring the safety of the brave men and women under his command who selflessly serve our city.”

Leonard is a 35-year member of the department and most recently served as Brooklyn Borough Commander.  

“It’s a tremendous honor to have been selected to serve as Chief of Department in the world’s greatest fire department,” said Chief Leonard. “I feel lucky and privileged at having already had an incredible career with the FDNY, and I’m excited and eager to help the Commissioner and Mayor de Blasio achieve even greater success for the Department in the years to come.” 

Before becoming a fire marshal, he worked as a firefighter in Brooklyn and Staten Island. During his time in the fire marshal's office, he worked on the streets in the department's "Red Cap" arson patrol program.

He was promoted to lieutenant in 1989 and worked in Brooklyn before being promoted to battalion chief, with assignments in Brooklyn, State Island and Manhattan. In 2002 he became a deputy chief and covered Staten Island and Brooklyn.

When appointed Deputy Assistant Chief in 2010, he took cover the Brooklyn Borough Command and led 2,000 firefighters assigned to more than 75 companies. 

He was cited four times for bravery, including an incident where he rescued a woman from a fire while off-duty.

Of the more notable incidents he responded to, he supervised the response in Brooklyn to Hurricane Sandy and served as incident commander during a major explosion and collapse in March 2014.

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