John T. O'Hagan (April 7, 1925 – January 2, 1991) was appointed the 22nd Fire Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor

John V. Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...

on October 11, 1973, and served in that position throughout the Administration of Mayor Abraham D. Beame until he was replaced by incoming Mayor Edward I. Koch on January 17, 1978.

Biography

O'Hagan joined the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

in 1947 at the age of 22, and quickly rose up the ranks. Appointed Chief of Department on December 16, 1964, at the age of 39, he was the youngest

Fire Chief A fire chief or fire commissioner is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department. Nomenclature Various official English-language titles for a fire chief include ''fire chief'', ''chief fire officer'' and ''fire commissioner ...

FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, ...

history. Chief O'Hagan led the department through some of its most harrowing years, those dominated by the arson that plagued the city in the 1960s and 70s, a time when the city's bankruptcy forced the layoff of hundreds of

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

s. He earned a reputation as a brilliant fire officer and a tough manager, despite his initial lack of knowledge of how to work the levers of city government. Even Chief O'Hagan, commanding a leader as he was, could not thwart a 1968 revision of the

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for construction objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permis ...

, drafted in large part by the

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, that he thought thinned the margin of fire safety. Still, Chief O'Hagan returned in 1973 with safety measures added to the code. But they did not apply to the

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, which, being owned by another government agency, the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

, was exempt from city codes and fire inspections. On October 11, 1973, at the age of 48, he was appointed Fire Commissioner by Mayor Lindsay. He retained his position as Chief of Department while serving as Fire Commissioner. O'Hagan was the recipient of the inaugural

Sloan Public Service Award Sloan may refer to: *Sloan (surname) *MIT Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States *Sloan (band), a Canadian rock band *Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a major astronomical survey **Sloan Great Wall, a galac ...

in 1973. He was the author of ''High Rise/Fire & Life Safety'' in 1977 and was an international authority on fire administration and fire safety. He officially retired from the FDNY on July 18, 1978, after 31 years of service. He died on January 2, 1991, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, of

cardiopulmonary arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest ''SCA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly circulate around the body and the blood flow to the brain and other org ...

from cancer.

Family

O'Hagan was married to Kaye Tully, had three children (Catherine, Susan and Michael) and ten grandchildren (Clare, Molly, Cecilia, Emily, Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Maggie, Joseph, and Michael).

References

Publications

*O'Hagan, John T. (Edited by John F. Shreve under the direction of Donald M. O'Brien), ''Fire Fighting During Civil Disorders''. New York: International Association of Fire Chiefs, 1968. 84 pages
(LCCN 74154094)
*O'Hagan, John T., and Edward H. Blum. ''Technology Aids Fire Service''. New York: Rand Institute, 1972. 31 pages
(LCCN 73170898)
*O'Hagan, John T. ''High Rise/Fire and Life Safety''. New York: Dun-Donnelley Pub. Corp., 1977. 274 pages. () {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohagan, John T. 1925 births 1991 deaths Commissioners of the New York City Fire Department