Denis Leary, who stars as a firefighter in the new TV series Rescue Me (Fox Network), is more than just an actor playing a role, he takes his commitment to public safety seriously. In 2000, the actor founded The Leary Firefighter Foundation in response to the Worcester, Massachusetts fire tragedy, which took the life of his cousin, a childhood friend, and four other firefighters.
In the wake of the events of September 11, the foundation established the Leary Firefighters Fund for New York’s Bravest to direct money to the 343 families of New York City firefighters who perished in the line of duty.
The foundation, which enjoys the support of many of Leary’s Hollywood friends, also provides funding and resources for fire departments to obtain the highest level of equipment, technology, and training. And on July 10, it donated a state-of-the-art Mobile Command Center to the New York City Fire Department. The high-tech $565,000 vehicle will function as the Fire Department’s central command post at large-scale incidents, disasters and high-profile events, and serve as a visible point of contact for fire and other agency and city officials. It will be deployed for the first time at the Republican National Convention.
Commissioner Scoppetta, who accepted the unit on behalf of the FDNY, said, “This command vehicle will play a central role in coordinating our operations and managing our resources at any large-scale emergency that occurs in the city. This would not have been possible without the support of Denis Leary, the Leary Firefighters Foundation and the support of the FDNY Fire Safety Education Fund.”
Leary in turn thanked the FDNY for “their tireless efforts in protecting the people of the city of New York. We are honored to have contributed this vehicle to help enable them to meet the challenges they face.” ♦
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