Daniel Nigro has seen and experienced a lot over his decades in the fire department. He first started as a firefighter in 1969.

“It doesn’t seem like more than 52 years ago, but it is," Nigro said.

A Queens boy, he followed in the footsteps of his firefighter dad. Working in various ranks over the last half century, it's been a good ride for the veteran firefighter.

“Whoever takes my place is the luckiest person in New York City because they get to be the face of the best and bravest, and that is a total privilege,” he said.

This is not the first time Nigro has retired. He said farewell to the FDNY in 2002 as chief of department. He was promoted to that position the day after the September 11th terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people.

“We lost 343 members, and someone like myself who had many years at the time, had many, many friends that went into those buildings and never came out, that will always be a part of my life,” he said.

Looking at the memorial wall inside FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn, he reflected on all of the firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice over the years. There are more than 1,000 names of FDNY members who have died in the line of duty starting in 1865.

The post-World Trade Center wall has a lot of empty space to accommodate names that will eventually fill that memorial. That’s because of the hundreds of ongoing deaths of first responders from September 11th-related cancers contracted working at the site or in the debris shipped to other locations.

“I have minor complaints in comparison to folks that have real serious illness,” Nigro said. “I’ve said it before: anybody who has been there, have worked in the days or months after, we are just waiting our turn.”

After Nigro retired in 2002, he agreed to return as fire commissioner in 2014. There have been major advances in technology during his tenure, but the department still faces issues over diversity and inclusion in the firefighter ranks, something he says is getting better. Most of the people of color in the department are EMS workers.

Nigro said EMTs and paramedics should be saluted and honored as heroes. He believes it was the skill of EMS workers during the Jan. 9 Bronx fire, when 17 people died, that saved many others from dying.

He said the the loss of life in fires is often preventable.

“As we see, the cause of fire is usually misuse of electrical cords, smoking, carelessness, leaving candles unattended, all these things can be prevented, cooking accidents. Very few fires are unpreventable," Nigro said.

That's the message Nigro wants to leave: fire safety and prevention saves lives.