Lillian Bonsignore making history as NYC's 1st openly gay FDNY commissioner

FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore spent decades in the department saving lives.

Now, she's making history as the FDNY's first openly gay commissioner.

Bonsignore's career

Bonsignore's career of serving New Yorkers stretches back decades, beginning on the EMS pathway in 1991, hitting the streets of New York day in and day out, saving lives.

"The real thing that I loved was the idea of service," she said. "They needed intervention and I was able to give that intervention."

She added, "Whatever it was, I was happy to be there, to be the person to help."

From an instructor at the EMS Academy to responding to Ground Zero on 9/11 to being appointed as chief of the EMS in 2019, Bonsignore has acted as a lifeline for thousands.

"I owned it right from the beginning"

Bonsignore rose through the ranks, and in January of this year, she was sworn in as the 37th commissioner of the fire department.

She is the first openly gay FDNY commissioner in the history of New York City.

"Where did your sexuality intersect with your career?" CBS News New York's Allen Devlin asked.

"I owned it right from the beginning, and I owned it for a couple of reasons," Bonsignore said. "One, I finally figured out who I was. I wasn't about to hide that."

Bonsignore doesn't let any label slow her down – from 9/11 responder, EMS captain and FDNY commissioner to wife, mother and grandmother.

"I think the important thing to understand is that we are simply just people," she said. "No matter what color you are, what religion you are, no matter what your sexual orientation is, we are just people trying to make it in this world. Why make it harder for each other?" 

Pride Parade grand marshal

Her decades of courage through the '90s and 2000s, battling the streets of the boroughs and the lack of universal acceptance as a gay woman up through her leadership at the helm of the FDNY today, led to her selection as one of the grand marshals for this year's Queens Pride Parade.

"I'm honored," Bonsignore said "It's a very humbling thing to be put on center stage that way, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do it."

She said she's not nervous about being the center of attention for thousands of paradegoers.

"I responded to 9/11, and I was the chief of EMS in charge of COVID, so no," she said. "There's virtually nothing that makes me nervous."