Bravest for life

Big retires after 40 yrs. of progress

THE FDNY’S FIRST deputy commissioner, who made it his personal mission to make the department as diverse and representative of the city it serves, is packing it in.

First Deputy Commissioner Bob Turner — the FDNY’s highest ranking African-American — finished up his nearly 40 years on the job on Thursday.

“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Turner told the Daily News as he headed to a lunch in his honor. “I spent the best part of four decades in this department. It’s been a big part of my life.”

Turner took on almost every role in the department before becoming FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro’s second-in-command in 2014.

The 60-year-old’s last day came as his family prepared for a new beginning — his third grandchild, Olivia Grace, was also expected to arrive on Thursday, he said.

“I missed out on a lot of family activities being a firefigher,” Turner said. “Now that I’m retiring, I’d like to spend more time with my wife and grandchildren.”

Turner (photo left) joined the FDNY in 1978, following the footsteps of his father, the late Captain Robert Turner (photo right).

He leaves as a record number of people have taken the city’s firefighters exam, including a record number of women and minorities.

For the first time ever, more than half of the test-takers were people of color, the FDNY said.

“I think we did a good job,” Turner said of the department’s diversity efforts. “It was a successful campaign and the numbers have been improving.”

Turner admitted that he would have never thought of being a firefighter if his father wasn’t one.

“It’s really about exposure,” he explained.

Turner became first deputy commissioner a few months after the city settled a civil rights lawsuit over biased hiring methods in the FDNY.

Nigro has picked Deputy Commissioner Laura Kavanagh to replace Turner. She will be the second woman to attain this rank in the department’s history.

In 1985, Turner earned one of the Department's top medals for bravery — the Brooklyn Citizens Medal — for entering a burning apartment while off-duty and rescuing people trapped inside.

Then, in 1997, while working for Engine Co. 214 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, he responded to his father’s home, where the retired firefighter and community activist suffered a seizure. His father later died at the hospital.

Turner said with all the time he spent being on call, ready to rush to a fire at a moment’s notice — it will take some time for him to relax.

“When I’m on the street and hear the sirens and see the fire truck racing by, I know I’m going to think back and say, ‘Wow, I wish I was on that rig or in the chief’s car behind it,’” he said.