The pilot of the FDNY fireboat that collided with another vessel and killed a visiting Belgian firefighter has quietly retired on a boosted, three-quarters-pay disability pension worth six figures annually, The Post has learned.
Firefighter Thomas Waller, who retired this month after 22 years on the job, will collect a tax-exempt pension of at least $110,000 yearly.
His cushy exit comes on the heels of a damning U.S. Coast Guard probe that cited the pilot’s reckless operation and “unsafe speed” in Marine 1 Bravo’s crash that fatally injured Johnny Beernaert.
The incident has shed some light on the longtime misuse of FDNY fireboats — which are meant for medical emergencies — to entertain friends and relatives of high-ranking officers.
The tragic fatality occurred after retired FDNY Capt. Stephen Lonergan showed up at the Marine 1 pier in Manhattan at 9 p.m on June 17, 2022, and asked to take the fireboat on a sightseeing jaunt to the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge with the visiting Beernaert, 54, and both their wives.
The commanding officer at the pier assigned Waller to pilot the impromptu trip.
Marine 1 Bravo zoomed along the East River at a top speed of 28 mph, as a chartered pleasure boat, “Honcho,” cruised nearby, going 6 mph, according to the Coast Guard’s report.
Beernaert died of “blunt force injuries” to the head when the Honcho T-boned the fireboat, its bow ramming into the cabin where the FDNY’s guests were enjoying the view. The others were treated for minor injuries.
Under FDNY pension rules, disability benefits for accidental injuries in the line of duty cannot be collected as the result of a retiree’s “own negligence.”
FDNY retirees normally qualify for a pension based on half the annual average of their last three years of salaries. A disability pension pays 75%.
The Coast Guard’s investigative report didn’t name Waller, but said the fireboat operator was “treated and released” by medical professionals the night of the crash.
It’s unknown what medical problem Waller claimed to justify a disability pension. Many firefighters cite lung ailments. FDNY spokespersons refused to explain his injuries.
At the time of the crash, then-acting Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh was aiming to succeed retiring Dan Nigro. Details on the fatal accident were kept under wraps pending an investigation by the Coast Guard — which took nearly two years to issue its report.
Waller, along with a lieutenant, a captain and a battalion chief — all on duty the night of the crash — were assigned to desk duties and/or transferred out of the FDNY’s marine division. The captain also recently retired.
None was slapped with disciplinary charges, which could be grounds to deny a disability pension.
“If you ask me, he’s being rewarded,” a fellow FDNY retiree said of Waller, adding that members who receive a disability pension after 20 years with the department can take an outside job. “He could work for another boat company.”
“The public has a right to know where their money goes, and this is yet another situation where we see why preserving that right is so important,” said Tim Hoefer, president and CEO of Empire Center for Public Policy, a taxpayer watchdog group that in 2015 won a lawsuit requiring the skyrocketing FDNY pensions to be made public.
The tragic joyride violated multiple FDNY marine rules, including that fireboats must be manned by three operators, including one officer and two firefighters, with one serving as a lookout.
Beernaert, a sergeant in the Belgium army and father of two, had planned to retire in a year, but continue working as a firefighter.
His widow, Heidi Vermandel, is suing both the city and New York City Boat Tours, which owned the Honcho, in Brooklyn federal court. The judge has encouraged the parties to seek private mediation to reach a possible settlement.
Waller’s attorney did not return a request for comment. Vermandel has filed no claims against Waller personally.
“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do,” her lawyer, Paul Hofmann, said of Waller. “He served the city. He worked hard and earned what he earned. It’s not up to me to judge.”
