William Brown Named Honorary Fire Chief

Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano (far right) and Chief of Department Edward Kilduff administer the Oath of Office.

William Brown, President of UTC Fire and Security at United Technologies Corp., was named Honorary Battalion Chief at a ceremony at FDNY Headquarters on Feb. 9.

“Bill has been an unbelievable friend to the Fire Department,” said Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano. “Experiencing the lowest fire deaths in the history of the Department [in 2009] did not happen by accident, it’s because of people like him who help get information out to the public.”

Kidde - which is owned by UTC - has donated more than 180,000 smoke alarms to the FDNY to distribute to communities throughout New York City. The company also has worked to educate the public about the importance of having a working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector.

(L to R) Chairman of the FDNY Foundation Stephen Ruzow, Chief of Department Edward Kilduff, Honorary Battalion Chief William Brown, Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano and Vice Chairman of the FDNY Foundation Andrew Guarino.

Mr. Brown was honored with a Humanitarian Award by the FDNY Foundation in 2007.

“I am honored, humbled and proud to be named an honorary Chief,” said Mr. Brown. “Unlike the members of the FDNY, I don’t put my life on the line every day, but, like the Department, we are committed to saving lives.”