Podcast Summary

Podcast: Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel
Episode: Honoring 9/11 with FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker
Release Date: September 10, 2025
Host: Rachel Uchitel
Guest: Commissioner Robert Tucker, 35th Fire Commissioner of New York City

Episode Overview

This episode, released in time for the anniversary of September 11th, features an emotional and insightful conversation between Rachel Uchitel and FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker. Together, they reflect on the legacy of 9/11, explore what it means to lead the world’s largest fire department after unimaginable tragedy, and discuss how the firefighter community, and New York itself, continue to honor the fallen while facing modern challenges. With both participants sharing personal connections to the day, this episode goes beyond headlines to humanize loss, resilience, and the ongoing mission of the FDNY.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Role and Journey of Commissioner Tucker

• Background: Tucker shares that he is a lifelong New Yorker, born at Lenox Hill Hospital, educated at Fieldston, GW, and Pace University Law School. He began as an intern at the FDNY in his teens, became a prosecutor, and founded a security company before moving into leadership roles at the FDNY Foundation and, eventually, Commissioner.
  • "Childhood dreams really can become adult realities...I used to chase fire engines on my bicycle with a scanner." (06:05)
  • His passion for the fire department started young but family pressures kept him from becoming a firefighter.
• Leadership Contrast: Tucker is not the first non-firefighter Commissioner; he highlights the value of diverse skill sets in leading such a complex organization.
  • "I think the best executive of a big agency like the FDNY could be someone who didn’t grow up there." (26:01)

2. The FDNY Today—Challenges and Vision

• Department Size & Scope: 18,000 employees, $3B budget, 240+ firehouses citywide (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx), plus 40 EMS stations.
• Blending EMS and Fire:
  • "For 25 years they’ve been under one umbrella...but I don’t think we’ve ever adequately merged the two." (27:19)
  • EMS is described as a national crisis: low pay, relentless workload (1.6 million calls/year, ~5,000/day), and staffing challenges.
• Operational Innovations:
  • Partnerships with tech giants like Google, Oracle, Amazon to improve logistics and response; learning from private sector efficiency (think: Amazon deliveries).
  • Exploring new models for handling non-critical 911 calls and integrating rideshare tactics.
  • "If Amazon can deliver toothpaste in an hour, then they know something about moving packages around that I could learn from." (29:21)
• Personal Leadership Philosophy:
  • Admits the system is hard to overhaul, but remains committed to setting up future solutions: "If I get to eat it [see the payoff], that'd be wonderful, but if I don’t, the next person will." (29:50)
• EMS Calls vs. Fire:
  • 50% of firetrucks’ runs now back up EMS, especially for high-priority medical calls.
• Work Culture:
  • Describes FDNY as a soulful “brotherhood” with deep purpose and career longevity:
    • "They know each other’s families...The best advice comes at the kitchen table in a firehouse." (39:56)
    • Notes the growing role and acceptance of women and veterans in the ranks.

3. The Weight of September

• 9/11 Memory:

  • Rachel and Commissioner Tucker both recall their personal September 11th stories, emphasizing the disbelief and horror of the day and the lasting wounds it left.
  • "September 11th is not just a date on the calendar—it’s a wound, a memory, a defining moment we carry in our bones." – Rachel (02:00)
  • Tucker’s Story:
    • On the night before, he was with John O’Neill, newly head of WTC security (who died the next day).
    • At Ground Zero that morning, seeking out fire chiefs, suddenly caught in the building collapse.
    • Saved by a police officer: “A police officer I knew opened the door, and by the grace of God, I lived.” (54:15)
  • Arbitrary survival: "It was so arbitrary about that day who lived and who didn’t." (55:22)

• Continuing Loss:

  • Department lost 343 firefighters on 9/11, including best-of-the-best and nearly the entire leadership. Tucker emphasizes the emotional toll and the ongoing deaths from related illnesses:
    • “We've already passed 343 [from illness]. You're going to get to 5, 6, 7, 800, 1,000 more firefighters who tried to find their brothers under rubble who are going to die as a result.” (45:22)
  • September is a difficult month: “There’s something in the air that’s just not normal.” (44:01)

• Cultural Memory:

  • Each firehouse has memorials to the fallen; many legacy children of 9/11 now serve in the FDNY:
    • “The most special ones are the legacy children of the 9/11 fallen.” (49:14)

• Annual Memorials:

  • Tucker is present for the entirety of the 9/11 ceremony—firefighter’s mass, bell-ringing at the crash times, and the reading of every victim’s name.
  • Honors not just fallen firefighters, but all victims.

4. How the FDNY Has Changed Since 9/11

• Modernization:

  • Now a “sophisticated, all-hazards public safety agency” with its own counterterrorism center.
  • Constant learning and adaptation—including sending staff to incidents nationwide (ex: California wildfires) to bring back lessons.
  • Updated protocols, gear, and technology.
  • "Everything has changed, but we will never forget. That’s the key…everything we do, every single day, we remember those who came before us and made the ultimate sacrifice." (67:55)

• Preparedness:

  • Training and mentality have shifted for new crises (active shooters, terrorism, mass casualty events):
  • "Absolutely...You've got firefighters, EMTs and paramedics in full ballistic flak jackets saying, let me in there, I want to get in there." (68:49)

5. Grief, Community, and Second Chances

• Consoler-in-chief:

  • Tucker describes his role as not only operational but as the department’s principal comforter for families and staff.
  • "I am the consoler-in-chief of the FDNY." (18:09)
  • Rachel: "There is a sense of knowing and seeing [9/11 families], because of what they went through…and indeed compassion." (47:51)

• Shared Experience:

  • Both guests discuss the unique solidarity among those affected by September 11th, its lifelong emotional effects, and its power to bind survivors and families.
  • "I thought there would be 50,000, 100,000 dead people. I couldn't imagine there wouldn't be." (60:43)

6. Looking to the Future

• Message to Families & Probies:
  • Every new recruit learns the history and honors the lost: "Our probies walk by [the memorial wall] all the time and they salute it and honor it, as do I." (69:21)
• Vision:
  • "The future is very bright for the FDNY because of the tradition, because of the culture...it is a calling to run into a burning building when people are running out." (70:33)
• For Listeners:
  • September 11th should be marked as “more than an anniversary… it's a day of reflection… a day we remember some iconic people… for the next hundred years.” (71:25 & 72:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Childhood dreams really can become adult realities...I used to chase fire engines on my bicycle with a scanner." —Robert Tucker (06:05)
• "My mom wouldn’t let me be a fireman. It was just that simple." —Robert Tucker (07:44)
• "EMS is the biggest crisis in public safety in America that nobody’s talking about." —Robert Tucker (27:19)
• "This is the greatest job. I can’t imagine there is a better job than New York City Fire Commissioner." —Robert Tucker (38:43)
• "September 11th is not just a date on the calendar—it’s a wound, a memory...a defining moment we carry in our bones." —Rachel Uchitel (02:00)
• "By the grace of God, I lived. But what was so arbitrary about that day is who lived and who didn’t..." —Robert Tucker (54:15 & 55:22)
• "We’ve already passed 343 now, but you’re going to get to 5, 6, 7, 800, 1,000 more firefighters who tried to find their brothers under the rubble who are going to die as a result of it." —Robert Tucker (45:22)
• "The most special ones are the legacy children of the 9/11 fallen." —Robert Tucker (49:14)
• "Everything has changed, but we will never forget. That’s the key…everything we do, every single day, we remember those who came before us and who made the ultimate sacrifice." —Robert Tucker (67:55)
• "It is a calling to run into a burning building when people are running out." —Robert Tucker (70:33)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:27] — Tucker’s childhood, path to leadership, and early FDNY connection
• [10:04] — His security company and pivotal moment after 9/11
• [18:09] — Explaining consoler-in-chief role after recent Park Ave shooting
• [27:19] — Integrating EMS and fire, and current organizational challenges
• [39:56] — Firehouse culture, brotherhood, and retention
• [43:45] — September as a hard month; the legacy of loss
• [49:14] — Second generation ('legacy') firefighters, honoring the fallen
• [51:23] — Commissioner Tucker's firsthand 9/11 story
• [67:55] — How 9/11 fundamentally changed the FDNY
• [69:21] — Tucker’s message for the families of the fallen, and new recruits
• [71:25] — Closing message for listeners on 9/11’s deeper meaning

Closing

This episode offers a deeply personal and practical look into the legacy of 9/11, the culture of the FDNY, and the evolving challenges of protecting New York. Rachel Uchitel and Commissioner Tucker both humanize their headlines, bear witness to ongoing pain, and celebrate the resilience and family spirit of the department. Through reflection and candor, they illuminate how remembrance must be both an act and an ethos—and how the FDNY marches forward, shaped by tragedy, strengthened by tradition, and always focused on saving lives.