FDNY chief is the wrong job for blatant political hacks

What in the blazes was Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore doing in Puerto Rico at the SOMOS shindig for politicos Thursday, as a horrible house fire was killing six Brooklynites?No, Bonsignore herself didn’t need to be on the lead engine or wielding a Halligan onsite, but that doesn’t explain why she was off at New York’s top seaside junket for politicians, lobbyists, union officials and other hacks who feed at the public trough in Puerto Rico each November.Bravest brass aren’t supposed to be political patronage hires, even if politics inevitably touches everything in city government.And when the city’s is in the middle of a spate of fatal fires — including one just last week in The Bronx that snuffed out four lives — the head of the FDNY should be on hand, not taking most of her top people off to a political schmoozefest.Fires and fire deaths are up sharply this year, driven almost entirely by e-bike lithium-ion batteries and the illegal use of household outlets to charge them.Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Please provide a valid email.

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Chief Bonsignore could have been here leading inspections, raising awareness and pushing for a crackdown instead of swanning around a Caribbean beach resort.Mayor Zohran Mamdani could strike a blow for Democrats’ new anti-corruption campaign by rolling her over the coals for this, sending her back into retirement and naming someone serious to the job....