Name Ronald Bucca | ||
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Born June 6, 1954 ( 1954-06-06 ) Cause of death Collapse of South Tower Died September 11, 2001, Two World Trade Center, New York City, New York, United States Similar Orio Palmer, Peter J. Ganci Jr., Rick Rescorla | ||
Ronald Paul Bucca (May 6, 1954 – September 11, 2001) was a New York City Fire Department Marshal killed during the September 11 attacks. He is the only fire marshal in the history of the New York City Fire Department to be killed in the line of duty.
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Military career
Bucca had served in the United States Army as a Green Beret during the Vietnam War. Later, he would serve the Defense Intelligence Agency as an analyst. Becoming a reservist in 1986, he joined the FDNY. He was subsequently injured on the job, which cost him his qualifications as a paratrooper and ended his eligibility with the Army Special Forces, causing him to leave the service.
Firefighting career
Bucca was a 22-year veteran of the department; he was promoted to Fire Marshal in 1992. As such, he was one of the individuals that investigated the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the FDNY representative on the Joint Terrorism Task Force. By 2000, the fire department's seat was removed, and Bucca's position there relinquished.
After responding to the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bucca ascended to the impact zone at the Sky Lobby on the 78th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, along with Battalion Chief Orio Palmer. The two men, both experienced marathon runners, are believed to have made it to the highest floor of any first responders in either tower before the building collapsed.
Legacy
In 2003, military police named the principal POW holding camp in Iraq "Camp Bucca" after Bucca.
At the National 9/11 Memorial, Bucca is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-14, along with those of other first responders killed in the attacks.