Jay Jonas

During his 35-year career with the FDNY, Deputy Chief Jay Jonas has served in the South Bronx, Harlem, the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and Chinatown.

On September 11, 2001, Jonas was the Captain of Ladder Co. 6 and was one of the first responding units to the World Trade Center. Jonas and his unit were rescuing a woman from the north tower of the World Trade Center when it collapsed on them. They survived the collapse and their entrapment. Only 20 people who were still inside the Twin Towers when they collapsed made it out alive, including Jonas. He was selected as the official representative from New York City Fire Department in attendance at President Bush's address to the nation at The U.S. Capitol Building following September 11.

Jonas has authored several procedures on the most efficient ways to rescue trapped firefighters for the FDNY and shares incredible survival stories while highlighting public safety improvements made post-9/11. He has been published multiple times in professional publications and appeared on NBC's "Dateline" and "The Miracle of Ladder Co. 6." Jonas has also been featured in the ABC television documentary based on Dennis Smith’s book "Report from Ground Zero," as well as in the documentaries "Miracles in our Midst" and "The Miracle of Stairway B" on the History Channel. He is the recipient of the Bishop’s Cross, given by the Bishop of the New York Diocese of the Episcopal Church, and received a "Men of the Year Award" from The Men’s World Day Organization in Vienna, Austria, presented by Mikhail Gorbachev and Paul McCartney. Additionally, Jonas was the first recipient of the New York Post Liberty Award for Leadership, nominated by his firefighters who worked for him on September 11, 2001.

Jonas holds an AAS Degree in Fire Protection Technology from Orange County Community College (SUNY) and a BS Degree in Fire Administration from Empire State College (SUNY). He and his wife live in Goshen, NY, and have three children.