Deputy Chief Tom Richardson is a 39-year veteran of the FDNY. He presently serves as the Chief of Operations. As a Battalion Chief, he served in the 38 Battalion in Brooklyn for 13 years before serving as a Deputy Chief in the 15th Division. He is a past chief of the Deer Park Volunteer Fire Department and is also an adjunct instructor at the FDNY Bureau of Training in the Battalion Chiefs Command Course and the Captains Development Program and has been an instructor at the Suffolk County Fire Academy for 15 years.

He has a bachelor’s degree in Community and Human Services from SUNY Empire State College and a master’s degree in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Tom serves as an executive leadership advisor for Leadership Under Fire.