The 2024 23rd Anniversary Run

About Deputy Chief Raymond M. Downey

After serving with the U.S. Marine Corps in the Middle East, Ray Downey was appointed to the New York City Fire Department in 1962. Chief Downey’s phenomenal 39-year career with the FDNY was built upon success after success and rescue after rescue. One of the most decorated men in the department, Chief Downey received five individual medals for valor and 16 unit citations. Additionally, referred to as “The Master of Disaster” and “God”, Downey, commanding officer of the Special Operations Command (SOC), died in the line of duty while helping others escape from the fire and collapse scene of the World Trade Center on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. He was truly a legend in his own time. 

The Deputy Chief Raymond M. Downey Scholarship Charity Fund All proceeds from the race will benefit the organizations supported by the family of Ray Downey.

Scholarship Charity Fund


As a tribute to Chief Downey's legacy, his family has established the D.C. Raymond Downey Scholarship Charity Fund to keep his memory alive and to benefit the many organizations that Chief Downey cherished.

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In Memory of DC Ray Downey

His memorial service in Deer Park, on Long Island, drew more mourners than other Fire Department memorials in recent weeks. A bagpipe procession down the street was followed by a fire truck that carried a large flower arrangement made to resemble an American flag, with Downey's helmet on top.

Large American flags hung from fire ladders outside the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, where Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani were among the mourners. After the service, a group of children released two bouquets of white balloons into the air.

Downey was an expert on urban search-and-rescue, and led a team of New York City firefighters who responded to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. It was his idea to use cables to anchor a giant slab that was dangling from a roof of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, endangering rescuers.

Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating has said Downey, an expert in what firefighters call "collapse rescue," had become a true friend.

Keating said that during his Oklahoma City stay, Downey was more than a helping hand, but also an "inspiration of unrivaled expertise. He was also a man whose beaming smile lightened some dark hours."



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