Official FDNY 150th Anniversary logo.
Photo Courtesy of FDNY
The nation’s largest and most elite fire service will mark a milestone over the next 12 months—and the entire city is on the guest list.
The New York City Fire Department will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2015 throughout the city and throughout the year in a variety of events, including hosting a dozen community celebrations in all five boroughs that will feature food, games and fun for children and teenagers—reintroducing themselves to the neighborhoods they serve.
The special block party-style events, to be held from June to September at firehouses and EMS stations, are designed to celebrate the department’s history of service and to encourage young men and women to pursue the public-service careers available in the FDNY as firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
The FDNY, established as a paid professional organization in 1865, will also be participating in several prominent city events in 2015, including the NBA All-Star Game and the 110th Annual Progressive Insurance New York Boat Show. Funds raised by the FDNY Foundation during this year-long celebration will go towards free Fire Safety and CPR education for all New Yorkers, as well as important training initiatives for FDNY members.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro last week unveiled a new logo for the 150th celebration, created by NYC & Company that will be used in all promotional and marketing endeavors. The logo prominently features axes and the star of life—universal symbols of firefighters, EMTs and paramedics—as well city landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty and One World Trade Center.
Also unveiled at the announcement was the limited-edition collector patch, designed by Firefighter Richard Miranda of Rescue Company 1. The patch features the Tribute in Light—the memorial art installation displayed each year on the anniversary of Sept. 11th—shining over the city skyline.
“We will mark this extraordinary milestone in the city’s history—150 years of service by New York’s Bravest—by renewing our commitment to serve and protect all New Yorkers, and with a keen eye toward the future as we look ahead to a department that is changing every day and becoming more representative of the people it serves,” de Blasio said. “As the FDNY becomes more diverse, it will continue to grow in strength and be able to better protect our city and all of its people.”
Nigro added, “The 150th Anniversary of FDNY is an opportunity to both reflect on the successes of our past and our goals for the future—to increase the safety of our members and this city, and to make sure that the department is more representative all of those people whom they are sworn to protect. Our strength as a department lies in our ability to learn from our past so that we can serve better in the future and as we mark our 150th year of service to the city in the upcoming year, we as a department will renew our commitment to all those who live, work and visit throughout the five boroughs as well.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
