A federal judge has shot down a request from a trio of high-ranking FDNY officials to put their demotions on hold, allowing the controversial shake-up in the department to move forward.

Brooklyn Federal Judge Rachel Kovner denied the petition late Thursday from soon-to-be-demoted Assistant Chiefs Michael Gala, Joseph Jardin and Fred Schaaf, rejecting their argument that without people in those positions, city residents would be less safe.

“Plaintiffs suggest that their demotions create a likelihood of irreparable injury to the public
by leaving FDNY with an inadequate number of Staff Chiefs available to respond to serious fires,” Kovner wrote, adding that “they contend that by demoting plaintiffs and additional commanders who are not parties to this lawsuit, the Commissioner has ‘gut the ranks of Chiefs who can coordinate responses to 3-alarm fires.’ ”

The chiefs’ lawyer, Jim Walden, argued that their lawsuit ” was about one thing: the safety of the public and valiant firefighters of the New York City Fire Department.

‘Left unchecked by this Court, the Commissioner’s mismanagement and hubris—culminating in her arbitrary, capricious and illegal actions—will leave FDNY woefully unprepared, resulting in unnecessary deaths,” the lawyer wrote in court papers.

But Kovner disagreed, highlighting the department’s current institutional knowledge and noting that the FDNY had already begun filling the vacant ranks.

The judge described any potential harm from the demotions — set to take effect Monday — as “too speculative.”

The assistant chiefs were abruptly demoted by Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh early last month, the first domino in an unprecedented shift in higher ranks of city fire officials.

Jardin served as assistant chief of Fire Prevention; Gala was the assistant chief of Operations, and Schaaf held the title of assistant chief of Operations.