Denis Leary did not want to organize another golf tournament or auction to raise money for his Leary Firefighters Foundation, according to an Associated Press report about the foundation’s work with New York City’s fire department. Instead, he teamed with the Fire Department of New York and the FDNY Foundation to create what he called a “crazy idea” for International Firefighters Day on May 4: a “Firefighter for a Day” event that puts civilians through training at the FDNY Fire Academy.
The foundation says that challenge, running in connection with the annual Denis Leary FDNY Firefighter Challenge, has been the only day each year since 2016 when the FDNY Fire Academy on Randall’s Island opens to non-firefighters. Participants train with actual firefighters and go through hands-on drills that mirror emergency response tasks, including carrying fire hoses, entering burning buildings, and searching for survivors. The training also includes rappelling down buildings to safety.
Leary said the event has improved over time and told The Associated Press, “It was exciting from the get-go,” adding, “Now, 10 years in, it just gets better and better every year. It’s truly amazing.” He also described the experience as something that often leads participants to push further once they see the teamwork and expertise involved. He said participants are not required to do anything they do not want to do, but that they sometimes take on more than they planned.
Leary recalled that “The Good Wife” star Julianna Margulies attended one year intending to be a coach rather than a participant. He told the Associated Press that she ended up in full bunker gear after going to the high-rise simulator, saying she had rappelled down the side of the building. Leary said he responded with surprise at her decision, while Margulies described overcoming her fears during the training.
The money raised through the challenge supports grants for fire departments across the country, including purchases of new equipment or additional training, according to David Morkal, a retired FDNY battalion chief and a member of the foundation’s board of directors. Morkal said the event now supports several additional grants and that the foundation’s annual grantmaking has grown: he said it started by giving out about $200,000 in grants a year and now provides about $850,000. Morkal added that the foundation hopes to reach $1 million in grants this year.
Morkal said the foundation’s criteria for gifts has remained the same since Leary started the foundation in 2000 after a tragic fire in Worcester, Massachusetts, that killed six firefighters, including Leary’s cousin and a childhood friend. Morkal described the mission as providing equipment and training so firefighters can “walk away from a fire after it’s out and go home to their families,” framing the effort as both training and equipment support.
John Tyson, assistant fire chief at the Talladega Fire Department in Alabama, said the foundation-provided forcible entry trainer his department received is used “almost every day.” He said the trainer helps firefighters breach locked doors quickly in emergencies and that the device can be critical to performance, even as department budgets remain tight. Tyson also said the foundation’s assistance is especially meaningful for a small, rural department.
Tyson said that for first responders, equipment needs can compete with other priorities in limited budgets, and he described gratitude for the foundation’s willingness to help. International Association of Fire Fighters General President Edward A. Kelly, whose union represents 360,000 firefighters and first responders in the United States and Canada, said he wished the foundation was not needed. Kelly described what he said is a flawed system in which city government budgets force fire departments to compete with other demands.
Kelly said the foundation stands in “the giant void” created by budget shortfalls and that, after 26 years of gifts, most fire departments in the country have equipment donated by the foundation. He said, “We owe a great debt of gratitude to Denis and to all the people that have helped support the Leary Foundation,” and added that filling gaps that could prevent the next tragedy is worth the investment.
Leary said he hoped that after the 9/11 terrorist attacks the federal government would step in to remove the need for the foundation’s work. He told the Associated Press that there was a “brief moment” when he and others wondered whether “the government gonna step in,” but that the hope quickly faded. He said he continues the effort and pointed to role-model philanthropy, including Boston Bruins president Cam Neely’s work supporting cancer patients at Tufts Medical Center.