Throughout his career New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Fire Marshal Ronald P. Bucca dedicated his life to helping others and serving his country. “He was in the Army as a helicopter mechanic. After Vietnam he went into the Army Reserves, and then he got into the FDNY fulltime,” says his son, also named Ronald “Ron” Bucca. “As he progressed within the fire department, he wanted to learn more about fire science and being a better professional. When he became a Fire Marshal in the FDNY, he was tasked with investigating arsons and the origin of fires. At John Jay he studied fire science, terrorism, and criminal justice. The school really offered him an abundance of resources.” Bucca grew up in Queens, New York, but since he worked in Manhattan, he’d often walk his son through John Jay’s campus and tell him about the College. We sat down with his son to learn more about this courageous John Jay fallen hero.

 Ronald P. Bucca during his military service

“The night before 9/11, I talked to my father like any other college kid. We were trying to work out the money for the flight home for Thanksgiving. It was just a normal conversation. ‘I love you. Talk soon.’ Then, the next morning I woke up for classes and saw what was happening on television.” —Ronald Bucca, FDNY Fire Marshal Ronald P. Bucca’s son

The Family Man
Despite the fact that Bucca was juggling a lot of different hats—a father of two, a husband of 23 years, a Warrant Officer in the Army Reserve, and an FDNY Fire Marshal—he was always there for his family. “He was a great father. He was always at baseball games. He was always involved in me and my sister’s lives,” says his son. “Looking back at that time, what sticks out the most to me is his mentorship. He always wanted to teach me what he knew.” Whether Bucca took his kids camping or on a trip to a museum—he was an avid historian—the seasoned Fire Marshal wanted to create learning experiences for his children. “That’s what I hold onto the most. He had so many facets to his life. In retrospect, you just wish you had those extra years, or even minutes, to ask more questions. But, I’m certainly grateful for the time I had with him and the knowledge that he did share with me.”

FDNY Fire Marshal Ronald P. Bucca

The Night Before
Like so many parents with older children, at the end of August 2001, Bucca dropped off his son at college. He helped move in his son’s belongings, explored the sites in New Orleans, and then headed back to New York City. “The night before 9/11, I talked to my father like any other college kid. We were trying to work out the money for the flight home for Thanksgiving,” says his son. “It was just a normal conversation. ‘I love you. Talk soon.’ Then, the next morning I woke up for classes and saw what was happening on television.” Young Ron tried to get a hold of his mother, but because she was a nurse, she was busy setting up a triage unit. He tried calling his father, but there was no answer. He finally got in touch with his grandmother who informed him that his father was in fact at the site. “And then, like the rest of the world, we waited. There was no flow of information for hours. Then at about 10 o’clock that night, I got a call from the Chief Fire Marshal saying, ‘Hey, we haven’t heard from your dad yet. You may want to come home.’” Since there were no available flights, Bucca’s son and his roommates hopped in a car and drove from Louisiana to New York. After connecting with one of the other Fire Marshals that his father worked with, he went down to the site himself. “I wanted to start looking for him right away. If anybody was going to find my dad, it was going to be me.”

“My dad had an intricate knowledge of the towers themselves. In fact, the month before, he talked to the guys in maintenance about an evacuation plan.” —Ronald Bucca, FDNY Fire Marshal Ronald P. Bucca’s son

The 78th Floor
Before September 11, Fire Marshal Bucca investigated the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. “My dad had an intricate knowledge of the towers themselves. In fact, the month before, he talked to the guys in maintenance about an evacuation plan,” says his son. “He knew the stairwells. He knew the layout of the building. He knew about terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, and he knew who Bin Laden and Ramzi Yousef were. There were only a few people who could connect all of the dots and my dad was one of them.”

FDNY Fire Marshal Ronald P. Bucca investigating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing

“Like all firefighters, I think he wanted to get to the point of impact to start trying to put out the fire—no matter how insurmountable that may have been.” —Ronald Bucca, FDNY Fire Marshal Ronald P. Bucca’s son

Bucca’s base was in downtown Manhattan on Lafayette Street. When he showed up for work that day, the first plane had just flown into the North Tower. He immediately spoke to his supervisor and together they shot over to the buildings. Just as they were parking, the South Tower was hit. The two men navigated their way through the lobby toward a stairwell that would give them a direct route to the upper floors. On route, his supervisor saw a woman who was badly burnt and incapacitated; so he helped her out of the building. Bucca continued upward toward the 78th floor of the South Tower. Through radio transmissions and eyewitness accounts, his son has been able to piece together his father’s final moments. “They were trying to put more water on the fire and my dad was providing first aid to the people who had been injured. All that training and all that education, everything culminated in this one moment in his life,” his son says, wiping tears from his eyes. “I obviously wish I had more time with him, but I truly believe he was where he was supposed to be, doing what he loved. Like all firefighters, I think he wanted to get to the point of impact to start trying to put out the fire—no matter how insurmountable that may have been. Later, they found him in like a pocket [of space] by a stairwell. His coat was on a lady he was trying to save.”

FDNY Fire Marshal Ronald P. Bucca

The Legacy
FDNY Fire Marshal Ronald P. Bucca was only 47 years old when he died in the South Tower while trying to save lives. “At the time, I thought he was old, but now that I’m coming to that age, I realize he was really young,” says his son. “He did a lot in his life, but there’s a lot more that he certainly could have done. He had one goal, helping people. That was always the goal.” After his father’s death, Ron finished his undergraduate degree and started a career in finance. “After reflecting on my father’s life, and the impact that he was able to make on people, I started looking toward a life of service. I really wanted to protect my family and the rest of the nation. To kind of walk in his shoes, I wound up enlisting in late 2002 and becoming a Green Beret in the Army.” It was Ron’s way of creating a shared experience and putting the lessons from his father to good use. 

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