“Make him proud”: A Daughter’s Journey to the FDNY
“Make him proud”: A Daughter’s Journey to the FDNY
- January 22, 2025
Like many children of first responders, Josephine Smith grew up playing with fire trucks and going to work with her dad. Throughout her life, she dreamed of one day working alongside her father, FDNY firefighter Kevin Smith, who was an original member of the department’s Hazardous Materials Company 1 (HAZMAT). However, September 11, 2001, altered that dream; Kevin was one of the 343 FDNY firefighters killed while responding to the World Trade Center. FDNY HAZMAT shares a firehouse with Squad 288 in Maspeth, Queens. Between the two companies, 19 firefighters, including 11 from HAZMAT, were killed in the attacks, which was the greatest lost from a single firehouse on 9/11.
Photo courtesy of Answer the Call, March 2016
Josephine was 21 years old when her father was killed, but her goal of serving New York City remained a central part of her life. In 2014, 13 years after the attacks, Josephine graduated from the FDNY Fire Academy and began her career as a probationary firefighter. Upon her graduation, Josephine became the first daughter of a firefighter killed on 9/11 to join the FDNY. When she was interviewed after her graduation ceremony, Josephine said she lives by one motto: “Make him [her father] proud.” While many remarked that Josephine achieved that goal, her mother added another perspective to her daughter’s FDNY graduation, “most important, she’s made herself proud about what’s she’s accomplished...and that’s our goal with her.”
Photo courtesy of Answer the Call, March 2016
Josephine wears her father’s bracelet, carries his memorial card in the cap of her firefighter dress uniform, and visits the 9/11 Memorial multiple times a year, feeling her father’s presence constantly as she forges her own life in the department. Presently, she is one of the few female firefighters on the job, and the only female at the Engine 39/Ladder 16 firehouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
In addition to her work as a firefighter, Josephine continues to support the first responder community by being active with organizations such as Tunnel to Towers, the Ray Pfeiffer foundation and Answer the Call, where she has been a member of their running team for the TCS New York City marathon.
This September, participants around the world can see Josephine share her story, in her own words, as a part of the 2025 Anniversary Digital Learning Experience program. Register for this free program today.
By Meghan Kolbusch, Education Specialist
REFERENCES
“Following in Her Father’s Footsteps.” Tunnel to Towers Foundation, July 26, 2017. https://t2t.org/following-fathers-footsteps/.
“In Dad’s Footsteps: Daughter of Fallen 9/11 Responder Joins FDNY.” NBCNews.com, November 19, 2014. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dads-footsteps-daughter-fallen-9-11-responder-joins-fdny-n251316.
Weiss, Juliana. “Josephine Smith on Answering the Call.” Women Who Inspire Us. Answer The Call, March 23, 2016. https://www.answerthecall.org/women-inspire-us/.
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