Orio Palmer - Family and Education

Family and Education

Reporter Michael Daly wrote, "The 45-year-old Palmer was one of the department's rising stars, renowned for his smarts and nerve and decency, as well as his physical fitness." He was married to Debbie Palmer, and had three children, Dana, Keith and Alyssa. They lived in Valley Stream in Nassau County.

According to John Norman, Palmer was very fit and ran marathon races. Historian Peter Charles Hoffer wrote that Palmer was "in superb condition". Palmer finished the New York City marathon as well as a dozen half-marathons and a couple of triathlons. Orio was also the first FDNY member to be awarded the department’s physical fitness award five times, resulting in it being renamed the “Orio Palmer Memorial Fitness Award” in his memory after September 11th, 2001.

Palmer was one of the "most knowledgeable people in the department" about radio communication in high-rise fires. He graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in New York City in 1974. He "held an associate's degree in electrical technology, and had written a training article for the department on how to use repeaters to boost radio reception at high-rise fires." Palmer was also published in a number of nationally distributed firefighting magazines as well as the internal FDNY newsletter. He also taught FDNY promotional classes at night while working toward his own bachelor's degree in Fire Engineering from John Jay College.