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Department releases FDNY Pro Podcast for January 2025: 'In studio with FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker'

January 29, 2025

On Jan. 29, 2025, the FDNY and the FDNY Foundation released the latest FDNY Pro Podcast, Episode 110. In it, Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker discusses issues facing the Department, including a new push for federal legislation to regulate lithium-ion batteries and utilizing artificial intelligence to improve public safety.

In 2024, the FDNY reported a decrease in fire fatalities related to lithium-ion battery fires. Commissioner Tucker said the Department's public outreach and community education efforts made a difference, but that there is work still to be done.

"First and foremost, we will not take a victory lap around a 67% decrease, because that still means that people died, and I will not stop working on this issue, talking about it publicly, until we are at zero," Commissioner Tucker said. "I think some of the success, and the reason that the fatalities are down, is because of the work that the Department is doing speaking publicly about this as frequently as we do."

On drones and artificial intelligence, Commissioner Tucker said the FDNY studies national trends so the Department can stay equipped with the most sophisticated technology to protect life and property in New York City.

"It's 2025, and we have to rethink and continue to innovate and learn about how to be the best fire department in the world," Commissioner Tucker said, specifically mentioning how artificial intelligence and analytics can play a role in the FDNY becoming more efficient in the future. "We are the greatest fire department in the world, but in order to keep our first-place designation, we have to keep moving forward."

The FDNY Pro Podcast brings together professionals and subject matter experts in the fields of fire suppression, rescue, emergency medicine, and training, offering firsthand knowledge and experience to listeners, particularly with a focus on those in the first responder community. With support from the FDNY Foundation, the official nonprofit organization of the New York City Fire Department, the FDNY Pro Podcast was established in 2016.

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