Department releases FDNY Pro Podcast for January 2026: 'In studio with FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore'

January 30, 2026

On Jan. 30, 2026, the FDNY and the FDNY Foundation released the latest FDNY Pro Podcast, Episode 122. In it, Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore has a wide-ranging conversation about leadership, service, the inspiration that led her to pursue emergency medicine, and the year ahead for the Department.

Commissioner Bonsignore, a 31-year veteran of FDNY EMS, was sworn in as the 37th FDNY Commissioner on Jan. 6, becoming the first member of EMS to be appointed Fire Commissioner in the Department's 160-year history. She brings three decades of frontline experience and leadership as a uniformed member of FDNY EMS to her new role-experience she said will help guide her as the leader of the Department.

"I can think about all the different roles that I have played throughout my career, starting with my role as an emergency medical technician," Commissioner Bonsignore said. "I can remember compressing a chest for the first time, praying that this person came back. I learned about empathy, structure and discipline, because in the face of an emergency when you are the rescuer, there is no opportunity for you to falter. You have to know what it is you're doing. Now, I'm the Fire Commissioner of the greatest fire department in the world, and it is not something I take lightly. My job now is to support the hands of the people who do the job."

FDNY EMS is recognized as the busiest EMS system in the United States, responding to approximately 1.6 million calls each year. About 70% of the FDNY's total call volume is medical/EMS-related calls. Commissioner Bonsignore said that workload taxes the entire department.

On recruitment, Commissioner Bonsignore said: "This is way more than a job. This is a calling. There are heroes all around us, and I think we're going to put in a lot of work into trying to find them and bring them home to the FDNY."

2026 will mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Commissioner Bonsignore responded to the World Trade Center, and said the Department will continue to honor the 343 members who made the Supreme Sacrifice and the more than 400 members who have since died from World Trade Center-related illnesses.

"There are very few circumstances where we're not all in this together, and first responders are required to work together on all fronts to save life and property," Commissioner Bonsignore said. "Responding to the September 11th attacks was life-changing. When we were there, there was no EMS, firefighters or police officers. There were heroes covered in dust and dirt. We worked side-by-side for months."

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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