Peter J. Ganci Jr.

Peter James Ganci Jr. (October 27, 1946 – September 11, 2001) was a career firefighter in the New York City Fire Department killed in the September 11 attacks. At the time of the attacks, he held the rank of Chief of Department, the highest ranking uniformed fire officer in the department.[2]

Peter Ganci, Jr.
Born
Peter James Ganci Jr.

October 27, 1946
DiedSeptember 11, 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 54)
World Trade Center, New York City
Cause of deathTerrorist attack
MonumentsNational September 11 Memorial & Museum, panel S-17
OccupationFirefighter
EmployerFire Department New York
SpouseKathleen[1]
Children3[1]
Firefighter career
DepartmentNew York City Fire Department
Service years1968 (1968)–2001 (2001)
RankChief of Department

Early life

Peter James Ganci Jr. was born on October 27, 1946, and raised in North Massapequa, New York.[3]

Career

Prior to joining the Fire Department, Ganci served in the 82nd Airborne Division.[1][4] Having never been deployed, Ganci was on leave at home with a firefighter friend who told him about the death of four firefighters from Engine 18 in the 23rd Street Fire in Manhattan. Ganci, at that moment, realized that there is a dangerous aspect to fighting fires as well.[5] While still a volunteer with the Farmingdale Fire Department, Ganci was with the same friend one day who told him he was planning to transfer to another station in the city. Following the conversation and his discharge from the Army in 1968, Ganci signed up and was accepted into the New York City Fire Department in 1968.[6]

Ganci joined the New York City Fire Department in 1968,[7][8] serving in engine and ladder companies in Brooklyn and the Bronx, beginning with Engine Company 92 in the Bronx and then subsequently Ladder Company 111.[2][9] During this time in the FDNY, a time described by The New York Times as "an era of crisis", fire companies battled arson fires almost continually in the city's poorest neighborhoods. Ganci was promoted to lieutenant in 1977, captain in 1983, battalion chief in 1987, and deputy chief in 1993, when he was working in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. In 1994 Ganci was made the head of the Bureau of Fire Investigation following the appointment as fire commissioner of Howard Safir, who needed a uniformed chief to address conflicts between fire marshals and uniformed firefighters, a conflict whose resolution Safir credits to Ganci. In January 1997 Ganci replaced his boss Donald Burns as Chief of Operations, the second highest uniformed position in the Fire Department.[2][10]

During the September 11 attacks
Ganci's name is located on Panel S-17 of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s South Pool, along with those of other first responders.

On the morning of the attacks, Ganci's best friend and executive assistant, Steve Mosiello, was going to drive Ganci to court, where Ganci had been scheduled for jury duty.[11] However, immediately after American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower (1 World Trade Center) at 8:46 a.m. Ganci, Mosiello, and Chief of Operations Danny Nigro rushed there from their command post in downtown Brooklyn.[12] Driving there in Ganci's car, they arrived on the scene in less than 10 minutes, and set up a command post on a ramp leading to a garage near the North Tower, in time to see United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower at 9:03 a.m.[11] According to Newsday, Ganci and others were in the basement of the South Tower when it collapsed at 9:59 a.m., but they dug themselves out of the rubble that had caved in on them.[12] Ganci ordered his men to set up a different command post in a safer location, farther north of the buildings, and ordered Mosiello to acquire backup. However, Ganci himself returned to the buildings,[11] coming to stand in front of 1 World Trade Center, where he was directing the rescue efforts with a multichannel radio, when the building collapsed. He and Mayor Rudy Giuliani had spoken just minutes before, when Giuliani had left for his command post, following Ganci's instruction to Giuliani for the fire commissioners and others to clear the area because it was apparent the North Tower would fall. However, Ganci himself did not evacuate the area, saying, "I'm not leaving my men", and remained at that location with William Feehan, first deputy commissioner of the fire department.[12]

Ganci and Feehan were killed when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m.[12] After a rescue dog located Ganci's body,[13] Ganci's fire team, including Mosiello, pulled it from beneath four feet of debris.[11][12] Ganci's former supervisor, Howard Safir, commented that Ganci "would never ask anyone to do something he didn't do himself. It didn't surprise me that he was right at the front lines. You would never see Pete five miles away, in some command center."[2]

Ganci was survived by his sisters, Mary Dougherty and Ellen Ganci, his brothers, Dan and Jim,[12] his wife, Kathleen, their sons, Peter Ganci III (a firefighter assigned to Ladder Company 111 in Brooklyn) and Christopher (also a firefighter in the FDNY[1][14][15]), and their daughter Danielle,[1][2] who lived with Ganci in Massapequa, New York.[2]

Legacy and memorials

Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan was unofficially renamed for him as Ganci Air Base.[16]

On Memorial Day in 2003, the post office at 380 Main Street in Farmingdale, New York, was named for him.[17][18][19]

In 2003 Ganci's son, Chris Ganci, wrote a biography of Ganci.[20][21]

At the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Ganci is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-17.[22]

On September 8, 2020, it was announced that the James Gordon Bennett Medal for conspicuous bravery would be renamed for Ganci.[23]

References
  1. Davis, Jo Ann (September 9, 2002). "Peter J Ganci Jr Post Office Building". C-SPAN. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011. Prior to joining the New York City Fire Department, Ganci served in the Farmingdale Fire Department as a volunteer and in the 82nd Airborne Division. Ganci served in the New York Fire Department for 33 years and was decorated repeatedly for bravery.
  2. Glenn Collins (2001-09-13). "Peter J. Ganci, 54, Fire Chief, While Leading Tower Rescue". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2011-01-20. Chief Ganci was placed in charge of the Bureau of Fire Investigation in 1994 after Mr. Safir was appointed fire commissioner. 'There was a problem between the fire marshals and the uniformed firefighters,' Mr. Safir said. 'I needed a uniformed chief who could bring them together. It was a highly charged situation, and in months, he turned the fire marshals into a great operation.'
  3. Atkins, Stephen E. (June 2, 2011). The 9/11 Encyclopedia (2 ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 203. ISBN 9781598849219. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022 – via Google Books.
  4. Baxter, Kathleen A.; Kochel, Marcia Agness (2007). Gotcha for Guys! Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited about Reading. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. p. 42. ISBN 9781591583110. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  5. "19th Anniversary of September 11" (PDF). FDNYs Bravest. Division 7: Training and Safety Newsletter. September 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  6. "19th Anniversary of September 11" (PDF). FDNYs Bravest. Division 7: Training and Safety Newsletter. September 2020. p. 3. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  7. "Peter J. Ganci Jr". National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. 2003. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  8. "Peter J. Ganci Jr". The Wall Street Journal. October 11, 2001. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  9. Paul Hashagen (2002), "Peter J. Ganci Jr.", Fire Department, City of New York, p. 251, ISBN 978-1-56311-832-6
  10. Bill Farrell; Virginia Breen (1997-01-03). "Fire Commish transferring 3 Chiefs". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2011-02-13. Burns' deputy, Assistant Chief Peter Ganci, will be named to replace his boss in the $166,800-a-year post, department sources said.
  11. "WTC survivors recall day of terror". CNN. 2001. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  12. Searcey, Dionne (2001). "Remembering 9/11: Long Island Remembers: Peter J. Ganci Jr." (Archived 2014-10-20 at the Wayback Machine). Newsday. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  13. Atkins, Stephen E. (June 2, 2011). The 9/11 Encyclopedia: Second Edition. Second Edition. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 146. Google Books. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  14. "Daniel Nigro Named 33rd Fire Commissioner". New York City Fire Department. 9 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  15. Kemp, Joe; Armaghan, Sarah (30 May 2012). "FDNY promotions include Chris Ganci, whose father, Peter Ganci, died at Ground Zero on 9/11". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  16. "Manas International Airport". GlobalSecurity.org. November 2001. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  17. Duleavy, Steve (May 27, 2003). "BAPTISM OF RAIN AND TEARS HONORS 9/11 CHIEF". New York Post.
  18. McGowan, Marina (May 30, 2003). "A High Honor for a Brave Long Islander" Archived 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine. Farmingdale Observer.
  19. "S. 2918 Reported in Senate (RS)". U.S. Government Printing Office. October 15, 2002.
  20. Baxter, Kathleen A.; Kochel, Marcia Agness (2007). Gotcha for Guys! Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited about Reading. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. p. 42. ISBN 9781591583110. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  21. Chris Ganci (2003). Chief: The life of Peter J. Ganci, a New York City Firefighter. Orchard Books. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-439-44386-9. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  22. Peter James Ganci Jr. Archived 2013-07-27 at the Wayback Machine. Memorial Guide: National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  23. Edelman, Susan et al (September 8, 2020). "FDNY Renames Highest Medal After Calling Namesake 'Racist'". New York Post.
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