New York City Fire Commissioner

The New York City Fire Commissioner is the civilian administrator of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), and is appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York. Prior to 1865, the New York City Fire Department was staffed by volunteers. On March 30, 1865 the New York State legislature passed a law organizing the Metropolitan Fire Department as a paid firefighting force that took control of all the powers and authority of the volunteer department, as well as all the assets such as the fire trucks, equipment, and buildings. The law also created a commission to oversee the department, and for its administration and functioning. After a lawsuit contesting the constitutionality of the law was dismissed by the New York Court of Appeals, the started to operate immediately.

During the remainder of the 19th century, the number of commissioners was periodically changed by the New York State legislature, until a single commissioner was put in charge of the FDNY when Manhattan and the Bronx consolidated with Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island to form The City of New York on January 1, 1898. Since then, there have been 34 commissioners excluding Acting Fire Commissioners, and 38 commissioners including Acting Fire Commissioners. The current Fire Commissioner is Laura Kavanagh, who first held the office on February 16, 2022 as interim Fire Commissioner. On October 27, 2022, she was appointed as Fire Commissioner.

Fire Commissioners of the pre-consolidated City of New York
During this period, the commissioners elected their own president, who ran the meetings, and treasurer, who was the fiscal officer and responsible for reporting the department's finances.