By Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
NEW YORK 鈥� The FDNY is bringing back the heat.
The department鈥檚 wildly popular 鈥淐alendar of Heroes鈥� featuring will be back for 2026 鈥� three years after it was scrapped, the Daily News has learned.
City firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics were told of the calendar鈥檚 comeback in an internal memo earlier this month. Members interested in modeling for the calendar were told to send in their 鈥済lamour shots鈥� by April 4.
According to the , a nonprofit organization that raises money for FDNY equipment and training and sponsors the calendar, photo shoots are expected to be done in the summer with the calendar released by year鈥檚 end.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited to bring this back,鈥� FDNY Foundation Chairman Matt DiLiberto told the Daily News. 鈥淚t was one of the most in-demand items we鈥檝e had and we鈥檝e gotten a tremendous response already.鈥�
The calendar was on hiatus for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic before it was officially cancelled.
Declining sales were initially blamed for its cancellation in 2023, but DiLiberto said the calendar was always a 鈥渟ubstantial fundraising initiative鈥� for the Foundation and the FDNY. Production was halted while the Foundation 鈥渞ethought its focus,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about beefcake anymore,鈥� he said about the new calendar. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about health, fitness and wellness and we want to spotlight that.鈥�
The Foundation also has a new production partner for the calendar: Florida-based , a sandwich shop franchise looking to have a presence in the Big Apple.
鈥淪ince our inception, we have been staunch supporters of firefighters who are committed to public service,鈥� Firehouse Subs Chief Marketing Officer Dena vonWerssowetz said. 鈥淭his calendar will highlight the brave men, women, and families who bring the heat every day and are an integral part of keeping the city safe.鈥�
The decision to pause the calendar came as the FDNY struggled to become more diverse and Laura Kavanagh But the Foundation says their decision had nothing to do with the department鈥檚 leadership at the time.
Current Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker, a longtime Foundation board member, said the calendar 鈥減resents an opportunity to highlight our Best and Bravest while helping fundraise for the critical mission of the FDNY Foundation .鈥�
鈥淭his new partnership is a great example of how public and private entities can work together to benefit the lifesaving mission of the FDNY,鈥� Tucker added.
First published in 2003, the $16 calendar was an FDNY mainstay for two decades. Every year more than 100 FDNY members would 鈥渢ry out鈥� for a spot. Scores of hard-bodied bravest were then whittled down to a dozen lucky models. The models were photographed in front of FDNY equipment or city landmarks and would take part in promotional events in Times Square where they signed autographs for their hardbody-smitten fans.
The Foundation photographed its 2021 calendar, its last edition, before the city went into lockdown in March 2020. No attempt was made to put together a 2022 or 2023 calendar while the pandemic remained a threat and FDNY members responded to a massive surge of emergency calls.
After a decade of serving nothing but beefcake, the FDNY started including women firefighters, paramedics and EMTs in 2014. Three years later the Foundation began offering two smoldering calendars: a men鈥檚 and a women鈥檚 edition.
In 2019, the Foundation decided to add animals into the mix and photograph the heartthrob hunks and heroines with animals adopted through the Animal Care Centers of NYC . But that backfired when Big Sexy, a feline model, got spooked and bolted from a lower Manhattan firehouse during a photo shoot.
Big Sexy was on the run for about two months before he was found on Staten Island and returned to his owner.
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