5 things to know about new FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker

Private security company CEO Robert Tucker was sworn in as the new commissioner of the New York City Fire Department Monday morning, officially taking over leadership of the agency of 17,000 firefighters and emergency medical workers.

The ceremony, which took place at the Randalls Island fire academy, comes one week after Laura Kavanagh – the first woman to lead the department since its 1865 creation – stepped down as commissioner.

"I can think of no higher calling than serving as the fire commissioner for the City of New York," Tucker said after his father held the Bible used to swear him in. "This is truly a dream come true."

Here are five things to know about Tucker as he takes over the city’s fire department.

He’s a white man

Tucker joins a department that has long struggled with complaints about sexism and racism. Firefighting remains a male-dominated field in New York City with just over 1% of the FDNY’s 11,000 firefighters being women as of 2020, according to City Council data. Racial disparities also persist. About 54% are white, 23% are other/unknown, 13% are Hispanic, 7% are Black and less than 2% are Asian. Kavanagh, Tucker’s predecessor, made history as the first woman to lead the department, but her tenure became tumultuous after she demoted a group of male fire chiefs. While she has said her decision to leave wasn’t connected to sexism, attention on the problems within the department was heightened with her resignation. 

He’s not a firefighter

A self proclaimed “fire buff,” Tucker’s ties to FDNY stretch back to his childhood despite him never spending time as a firefighter. While delivering remarks during the Monday ceremony, he recalled chasing fire engines on his bicycle as a young boy growing up in Manhattan in the 1970s – “a pretty rough time, especially for firefighters.” Tucker went on as a teenager to intern in the fire department’s Manhattan Communications Office where he became “obsessed with learning how to map multiple alarm fires across Manhattan.” In doing so, he learned that most of the fires in the borough were clustered in specific pockets of the city. While Tucker went on to explore other careers as an adult, he remained connected to the department through fundraising as a longtime board member of the FDNY Foundation after getting involved with the nonprofit after 9/11. To honor his work with the foundation, then-FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano named Tucker an honorary fire commissioner in 2014.

He runs a private security firm

Tucker was most recently the chair and CEO of T&M Protection Resources, which is a tech company with headquarters in Manhattan specializing in cyber security, surveillance, background investigations and executive protection, according to the company’s website.  He started working with T&M Protection Resources in 1999.

He’s an attorney with experience in public service 

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from George Washington University in 1992, Tucker attended law school at Pace University. He graduated in 1996 and started working as a special legal assistant to Judge Richard Brown, the former Queens County district attorney. He also served as chair of the New York state Security Guard Advisory Council until 2021 and was a member of the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Ninth Judicial District of the New York state Supreme Court.

Beyond his longtime work on the board of directors of the FDNY Foundation,Tucker also serves on the New York City Police Foundation board of trustees and as a Westchester County Police Department police board commissioner. Tucker also has some ties to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, having been appointed to serve on the mayor's Public Safety and Justice Committee mayoral transition team in late 2021. 

He acknowledged FDNY’s uphill diversity battle right off the bat

A lot of eyes will be on Tucker in the months to come to see how he handles the challenges posed by the FDNY. The department’s tight-knit culture has long been plagued with criticisms of racism and sexism. Like Kavanagh, Tucker has never been a firefighter.  While the former commissioner faced a swell of internal criticism for her lack of firefighting experience, it remains to be seen whether Tucker – a man – will garner the same sort of response. His early ties to FDNY and existing relationships with top brass could help in that capacity. 

Both Adams and Tucker mentioned the criticisms of FDNY culture on Monday, the former saying Tucker is well-equipped with the honesty and communication needed to “put out the flames that are actually burning inside the agency.” 

“As anyone in a firehouse will tell you, what affects one person, affects everyone. Firehouse culture has come under scrutiny. It is important to remember that a house needs to be just that – a home for everyone who signs up for this line of work,” Tucker said. “I will work to ensure our houses deliver the cultures and experience everyone deserves.”