By Alexander Dworkowitz
When Fire Department Chief Daniel Nigro joined the FDNY in 1969, he wanted to advance in the department but never dreamed of becoming chief.
“I hoped if I studied hard enough, I could become a captain like my father,” he said.
Nigro, 53, recently announced his plans to retire after the department decided not to grant him tenure status. Nigro, who grew up in Bayside and has lived in Whitestone for more than three decades, reflected on his 33 years with the FDNY in an interview with the TimesLedger.
Nigro became fire chief on the worst day in the department’s history, Sept. 11, when 343 of its members were killed in the rescue effort at the World Trade Center.
Nigro stepped into the role of chief after then Chief Peter Ganci was killed in the collapse of the Twin Towers.
“I was miserable at the loss of so many people,” Nigro said. “I was just devastated.”
Nigro credited the work of his fellow firefighters for helping the department survive.
“I didn’t hold the department together, I just did one small share of it,” he said. “I thought it was important to do as a team, to show that we as a department had survived even that. And we did.”
Several weeks ago, Nigro learned he would not be granted tenure as chief of the department, which allows the chief to continue on at his job until he or she chooses to retire. He was left with two options: drop back in rank or retire. He chose the latter.
The majority of the chiefs in the Fire Department in the last 10 years have not been granted tenure. Since a chief can work no more than a year before being granted tenure, the position is somewhat of a revolving door in the FDNY.
Nigro said he was disappointed but not angry at the department’s decision not to give him tenure.
Nigro will officially leave the FDNY on Sept. 9. Former Fire Chief Frank Caruthers, 56, of Rockville Center will take his place.
Although he has fought hundreds of fires in his decades with his department, Nigro said they all paled in comparison to Sept. 11.
“I think Sept. 11 was just so overwhelming in its scope that there is just nothing else,” he said. “Everything else just kind of blends in.”
Nigro looked back warmly on the fellow firefighters he had met over 33 years.
“What sticks in my mind the most are all the great friendships I made over the years with so many wonderful people in the department,” he said.
Nigro has made little plans for his life after retirement other than to spend more time with his family. He lives with his two daughters, Lisa, 25, and Lori, 19, and his wife, Lynn. Nigro and his wife were childhood sweethearts, having met in the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Bayside.
Lori Nigro is attending Baruch College, her father’s alma mater.
Nigro joked he was happy with his daughter “as long as she doesn’t follow me into the Fire Department.”
But despite taking charge of the department in its most difficult year of its existence, Nigro said he was sad to finally leave.
“I’ve been putting on the uniform since I was 21 years old,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll miss it.”
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
