Mike Colón Media

“EMS is the future of the FDNY — and separating it would set us back.”

In Episode 385 of Mic’d In New Haven — The Best of The Bravest: Volume 79 — FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker offers a detailed, candid perspective on the ongoing push by some to separate the EMS division from the Fire Department entirely.

Tucker breaks down the reality: more than 50% of engine company runs today are EMS runs, and over 200 members of the current Probationary Firefighter class came directly from EMS, already trained as EMTs and paramedics. Scaling them back to CFR, he argues, would be the equivalent of “taking ER doctors and training them to be paramedics.”

He speaks openly about the strategic plan his administration put in place, the unfinished work he hopes the next commissioner will carry forward, and the danger of reversing course on the integration and modernization of EMS within the FDNY.

A thoughtful, forward-looking take on the future of prehospital care and public safety in New York City.

Special thanks to Amanda Farinacci Gonzalez once again for helping set this up.

In Memoriam:

Paramedic Salih Abdur Rahman
(End of Watch: October 29, 2025)
Firefighter Patrick Brady
(End of Watch: November 8, 2025)

Outro Song: Goo Goo Dolls – Slide (1998)

FULL INTERVIEW HERE: