Remembering Post-9/11 FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta ’58
Tasked with rebuilding his department after immense loss, this Bradley alumnus built upon an already mounting legacy of public service.
September 28, 2026
When Nicholas Scoppetta was five years old, his mother forged a check for $18 in cash and $3.20 in groceries. His mother was jailed for three months, and Scoppetta and his two older brothers would spend the next six years moving through various institutions in the foster care system.
Decades later, after securing a degree in Civil Engineering at Bradley through the G.I. Bill following two years in the army, Scoppetta would dive into public service. After working as a county and federal prosecutor where he battled police corruption, Scoppetta’s career came full-circle when he founded and ran New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services in 1996.
“Doing something respected and valued, I suppose it was all a craving for self-esteem that I may not have had when I was a kid in foster care,” Scoppetta said of his public service.
However, Scoppetta’s contributions to his community were far from complete. Four months after the events of 9/11 and FDNY’s heartbreaking loss of 343 members, incoming Mayor Michael Bloomberg named Scoppetta the department’s 31st Fire Commissioner. Tasked with rebuilding the fire department after the greatest loss any of its kind had seen in American history, his eight years in the role would be characterized by impactful, empathetic leadership and thoughtful, future-facing reform and retraining.
“After 47 years in government and public service, there has been no greater reward than to have helped rebuild the Fire Department in the aftermath of 9/11,” Scoppetta said in his farewell letter to FDNY. “I am confident this Department is ready to meet the many challenges of the 21st Century.”
Having overhauled radio communications, retrained the department for large-scale and chemical, biological, and radiological incidents, and rebuilt command structures from the ground up following an intensive independent review of the FDNY’s 9/11 response, this readiness no doubt is a direct result of Scoppetta’s strong and decisive leadership.
“He answered the call of duty from wherever it came because it was the right thing to do and because it brought him joy,” said Bloomberg after Scoppetta’s death in 2016. “He wasn’t in it for the glory, he never sought the spotlight, with uncommon humility he served with great honor in pursuit of the most noble goals.”
–Jenevieve Rowley-Davis