Photos: FDNY Honors Retiring Deer Park Firefighter With Ceremony

DEER PARK, NY — Thomas Richardson, the FDNY's Chief of Department and a former Deer Park volunteer firefighter, was honored with a walkout ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate his retirement.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro attended the walkout, as did "many FDNY members, family, and friends," according to an FDNY Facebook post.

Richardson retired on Wednesday after 41 years with the FDNY. He was its 37th Chief of Department — the highest-ranking uniformed position, according to the FDNY's website.

Nigro appointed him to that position in 2021, and he oversaw 16,000 uniformed firefighters and EMS personnel, as well as four major agency bureaus: Fire Operations, EMS Operations, Training and Fire Prevention.

He was cited for bravery six times throughout his career, the Facebook post said, including for the rescue of a 15-year-old boy from a Brooklyn fire.

"At that incident, Firefighter Richardson was lowered by his life-saving rope from the roof of a three-story brownstone on Monroe Street where he rescued the teenager who was trapped by a fire," officials said on Facebook.

Richardson got his start as a volunteer firefighter in Deer Park, according to the Long Island Fire Wire. He joined the FDNY in 1980 at Engine Company 227 in Brooklyn, and worked at Brooklyn's Ladder Company 102 and Rescue Company 2 before being promoted to Lieutenant in 1990.

As Lieutenant, Richardson worked in Battalion 16 in Harlem for a year, before returning to Brooklyn as a member of Engine Company 235 in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

In 1994, he was promoted to Captain of Engine Company 234 in Crown Heights, and later became Captain of Squad Company 270 in Queens. In September 2000, he was promoted to Battalion Chief.

"The FDNY wishes Chief Richardson a happy and healthy retirement," officials wrote on Facebook.

See more photos of the ceremony on the FDNY's Facebook page.