New York City Fire Chief Peter J. Ganci, Jr., lost his life trying to save others in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Now Farmingdale's Main Street Post Office has been renamed in his memory.

During the rain-drenched ceremony on Memorial Day, the bagpipes played, drowning out the downpour outside the Farmingdale Post Office. Hundreds came on this holiday to honor Chief Ganci, who made the ultimate sacrifice, with the renaming of the post office.

The village was Pete Ganci's hometown, where he joined the volunteer fire department as a teenager in 1963.

"Our front line soldiers and defenders could not have a better example of what it means to be a great American than Peter J. Ganci, Jr.," said Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who along with Congressman Peter King sponsored legislation to rename the post office.

"The rest of our country and the rest of the world saw what those firefighters did that day," said King. "Without any hesitation whatsoever they went in and they were led by Pete Ganci."

Ganci was the five-star Chief of Department who led a command post of his firefighters at the base of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Despite the danger, he and hundreds of others risked their lives that day. Chief Ganci led several firefighters out of tower one, but when he went back to save others from tower two, he never returned. He was the highest-ranking uniformed officer killed that day.

Although he held such a high ranking, when asked what he did he would reply that he was a fireman. He always considered himself just "one of the guys." Ganci served 33 years in the city fire department. He was appointed on Sept. 14, 1968.

Speakers at the ceremony, including Chief Ganci's son Christopher, said that it was most appropriate to honor his father and the other men and women on this Memorial Day.

As they unveiled a new post office plaque, one speaker said that Chief Ganci told an interviewer that he wanted to be remembered when he retired simply as a good firefighter. The speaker said that his wish has come true.

"You know there is an old adage that says to be successful in life you must find what you love to do and do it," said Christopher, who authored Chief: The Life of Peter J. Ganci, A New York Firefighter, a book honoring his father. "Well, my father loved being a fireman."

Throughout his career, Chief Ganci served in the busiest firehouses in New York City. Cited over 10 times for bravery, he won the prestigious Frank T. Tuttlemondo Medal as a Lieutenant in 1983, for a rescue of a young girl trapped in a two-story tenement. As Chief of Department, Chief Ganci was responsible for all aspects of the FDNY including training and fire prevention. During his tenure as Chief of Department, he oversaw and helped to initiate dozens of positive changes for the FDNY, such as the merger with the Emergency Medical Service.

The postal service said that renaming the post office requires an Act of Congress, something that has only happened two other times on Long Island in the past decades. Other local dignitaries that were in attendance at the hour-long dedication included Paul Bauccio, Farmingdale Postmaster, Mr. Frank Cruthers, Chief of Department for the FDNY, Joseph Trudden, Mayor of Farmingdale, Jack Scherer, Farmingdale Fire Department, Ex-Chief, and John Venditto, Oyster Bay Town Supervisor.

Chief Ganci is survived by his wife Kathleen, son Peter III, also a New York City firefighter; his son Christopher and daughter Danielle.