The FDNY hierarchy is going down in flames.
Three high-ranking city Fire Department chiefs were abruptly demoted in a controversial shake-up last week — and two other chiefs then voluntarily stepped down from their titles in solidarity, law-enforcement sources told The Post on Monday.
And other protesting chiefs may soon follow suit, sources warned.
Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh knocked down in rank Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention Joe Jardin, Deputy Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Gala and Deputy Chief of Department Fred Schaaf on Friday, sources said.
The move immediately sparked outcry from rank-and-file Bravest — and prompted two top fire officials, Chief of Department John Hodgens and Chief of Operations John Esposito, to seek demotions, furious at least partly because they were left in the dark by Kavanagh over their colleagues, sources said.
Kavanagh was stunned by the move by Hodgens and Esposito, sources said.
“This puts the department in turmoil,” an FDNY source said.
“Who will make day-to-day decisions? The commissioner doesn’t know anything about fighting fires or personnel.
“She will also have a hard time replacing them,” the source said. “Firemen are a tight group. No one will want to take their job, and if someone is dumb enough to take the job, good luck getting people to work for them.”
No replacements have been named for the demoted chiefs.
According to a firefighter source, the demotions by Kavanagh, the FDNY’s first female commissioner, were designed to flex her muscle at the 150-year-old Big Apple department.
“She is showing she is the boss, and they’re fighting back,” the source said. “There was no need for this. Things were running smoothly. Now the commissioner has a problem.”
Ironically, the decision to demote the three chiefs was announced after an FDNY executive meeting Friday about “working together,” a source noted.
Fire department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
