
Veteran paramedic Lillian Bonsignore is set to become the highest-ranking woman in the history of the New York City Fire Department when she is promoted to Chief of Emergency Medical Services on Tuesday.
The New York Daily News reports: “Lillian Bonsignore, a single mom barely out of her teens when she started as an emergency medical technician in 1991, becomes the first woman to hold the rank in the department's 154-year history. She takes over the FDNY's 4,500-strong EMS department from the retiring Chief James Booth. With her promotion, Bonsignore, 50, will also set two new milestones for the FDNY — becoming the highest-ranked woman in the uniformed service, and the highest-ranked openly gay member.”