His fire is also now out.
FDNY second-in-command Joseph Pfeifer has been booted by new Commissioner Robert Tucker just days after the new head took over, The Post has learned.
The department’s top-earning leader — who was raking in more than $500,000 — informed colleagues Friday that he is being forced out soon after the exit of the ex-boss who had hired him, former Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.
“Fire Commissioner Tucker [informed] me that City Hall will replace me with a new First Deputy Commissioner,” Pfeifer, 68, wrote in a farewell email obtained by The Post.
“It has been great working with all of you for the last year and a half and many of you for much longer.”
City Hall supported the new commissioner’s decision, Mayoral spokeswoman Liz Garcia said.
“As every commissioner before him has done, Commissioner Tucker will build a staff that will move forward his and the administration’s vision for the FDNY,” she said.
“The department will announce any leadership changes when they are officially made.”
Pfeifer had served in the department for 37 years until 2018, and was then pulled out of retirement last year to serve under the FDNY’s first female leader.
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He was hired as then-Commissioner Kavanagh clashed with three of her top chiefs after demoting them. It was assumed she brought in Pfeifer to make sure there was still firefighting experience in the top ranks of FDNY.
It made him the top earner, raking in a staggering $522,000 due to his ability to legally “double dip” by collecting his FDNY salary of $242,727, alongside his pension with the department, which came to $279,304 in fiscal year 2024.
Under Kavanagh, he managed FDNY’s day-to-day operations and activities across its offices and bureaus
Pfeifer could be replaced by EMS Chief Michael Fields or Battalion Chief Mark Guerra, sources told The Post.
Other shakeups include Kavanagh’s chief of staff, Luis Martinez, a former NYPD lieutenant whose appointment had irked some veteran fire chiefs and rank-and-file firefighters, to City Hall, where he will work under Deputy Mayor Phil Banks, a source said.
Pfeifer did not respond to a request for comment.
