Michael E. Roberts, 31, firefighter, FDNY, Ladder 35. When Roberts’ father, an FDNY captain, placed his small son inside a fire truck, the four-year-old boy found his calling. Twenty-three years later, Roberts was admitted to the FDNY academy. In the Ladder 35 firehouse, Roberts became known as the “Psychologist” for his attentive listening skills. It was an apt nickname as Roberts had earned a degree in psychology at SUNY-Buffalo before becoming a firefighter. Roberts still lived in Pearl River, N.Y., the town where he grew up.