Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta will join the FDNY Foundation tonight at the annual FDNY Foundation Humanitarian Awards Dinner to honor this year’s honorees who have provided overwhelming support to the New York City Fire Department. Presented annually, the Fire Commissioner’s Humanitarian Awards recognize individuals for outstanding and continuing service to the New York City community.

The FDNY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that supports the life-saving work of the FDNY through various programs including new equipment and training for thousands of firefighters. Established in 1981, the FDNY Foundation sponsors a variety of educational and public awareness programs designed to reduce the number of fires and fire fatalities.

The 2008 honorees are Martin J. Sullivan, President, CEO and Board Member of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), and Mort Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report and Publisher of the New York Daily News. Some of the FDNY Foundation’s recent accomplishments include:

• Launched the Sound the Alarm campaign – the largest fire safety campaign in FDNY history
• Donated more than 150,000 smoke alarm batteries to the FDNY for the largest battery giveaway in City history
• Partnered with Leary Firefighters Foundation to fund new High-Rise Simulator at the FDNY Fire Academy
• Nearly 9,000 fire safety presentations given in 2007 under the Fire Zone on the Road program

Press Contact: Francis X. Gribbon & Seth E. Andrews, (FDNY) (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny