Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) is a New York City firefighter with Ladder Company 62.
He is also an impatient, self-loathing, hypocritical, manipulative alcoholic who suffers from severe survivor’s guilt and PTSD as a result of his role in the aftermath of the World Trade Center terrorist attack on 9/11.
He and his wife, Janet (Andrea Roth), are still technically married, though they are separated, and Tommy has moved across the street.
Tommy’s actions as a firefighter are heroic and brave, but his family members and fellow firefighters view him as selfish, despite his concern for others and passion for the job.
Tommy perpetually struggles with the death at the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 of his cousin and best friend, firefighter Jimmy Keefe (James McCaffrey) – who frequently visits Tommy in ghostly dreams – and 59 other firefighters he knew.
Many of the extras were retired or active FDNY firemen who worked on the show on their days off.
James McCaffrey died from multiple myeloma in Larchmont, New York, on 17 December 2023. He was 65.
Tommy Gavin
Denis Leary Mike Silletti
Michael Lombardi Sean Garrity
Steven Pasquale Janet Gavin
Andrea Roth Kenneth ‘Lou’ Shea
John Scurti Franco Rivera
Daniel Sunjata Sheila Keefe
Callie Thorne Colleen Gavin
Natalie Distler Jimmy Keefe
James McCaffrey Father Mickey Gavin
Robert John Burke Chief ‘Needles’ Nelson
Adam Ferrara
He and his wife, Janet (Andrea Roth), are still technically married, though they are separated, and Tommy has moved across the street.
Tommy Gavin
