Mayor Eric Adams on Monday swore in the city’s next fire commissioner, a longtime businessman and FDNY supporter who promised to protect firefighters as the mayor addressed “flames” from inside the department.
Robert S. Tucker, the chairman and CEO of T&M Protection Resources, was named the department’s 35th commissioner at a ceremony held at its fire academy on Randall’s Island.
Adams touted Tucker’s work in global security and his personal ties to and longtime support of the FDNY. Tucker, who was named an honorary fire commissioner in 2014, has served on the board of the FDNY Foundation, the non-profit group that raises money on behalf of the department. He’s also an honorary NYPD commissioner, who’s served on the board of the New York City Police Foundation.
Tucker recalled at the ceremony that his first work experience was interning at the FDNY’s communications office in 1985 after viewing firefighters as heroes growing up in Manhattan in the 1970s. (He did not take the exam to be a firefighter, a department spokesperson confirmed.)
He later went to law school and worked as special assistant to the Queens district attorney before joining T&M, a global security and protection company.
“I’ve been an assistant DA, I run a global security firm, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt I can think of no higher calling than service as the fire commissioner of the city of New York,” he said in his speech Monday.
Tucker replaces Laura Kavanagh, the first female commissioner in the department’s history, who left earlier this month. Her two and half years leading the department were rocked by internal fights with top chiefs, some of whom sued alleging age discrimination following demotions.
Kavanagh, who also never worked as a firefighter, wrote in an online post last month that she left the job to spend more time with friends and family after 10 years at the FDNY.
On Monday, the mayor recognized Kavanagh’s service and work on crucial issues, including deadly fires caused by faulty lithium-ion batteries. And he acknowledged continued challenges in diversifying the department’s members and working to make its insular culture more inclusive.
Tucker, he said, is “inheriting more than just a department that had to put out flames of burning buildings. We had to put out the flames that are actually burning inside the agency. And it’s going to take a level of honesty and ability to communicate to accomplish that task.”
The new commissioner said he knew his role would be to make sure every firefighter can do their job safely while also working on “cultures and experience everyone deserves.”
“I know my role here. You’re out doing the hard job, I’m here to make it easier and safer,” he said.
James Brosi, the president of the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers Association, said he and his members looked forward to working with the new commissioner.
“His long-standing relationship with public services, specifically his work on the board of the FDNY Foundation, gives him an insight into the complexity and culture of the FDNY,” he said.
“His leadership and executive experience in the private sector should enable him to effectively confront the challenges of the FDNY.”
In a statement, Councilmember Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who chairs the City Council’s committee on fire and emergency management, said Tucker is “a man who truly loves the fire department, and I look forward to seeing him and the department flourish together in the months and years to come.”
