Thomas Sturgis was appointed the 2nd Fire Commissioner of the consolidated City of New York by Mayor Seth Low

Seth Low

Seth Low , born in Brooklyn, New York, was an American educator and political figure who served as mayor of Brooklyn, as President of Columbia University, as diplomatic representative of the United States, and as Mayor of New York City...

 on January 1, 1902 and served in that position until the end of the Low Administration on December 31, 1903. Prior to this, he also served as a fire commissioner under William Lafayette Strong, replacing Austin E. Ford.