New York —More 9/11 New York City FIre Department first responders have now died from exposure to toxins at Ground Zero than members killed during the terror attack, officials confirmed Monday.
Twenty-three years ago, 343 FDNY members died when the Twin Towers fell.
"World Trade Center illnesses have touched every aspect of this department, from civilians, to paramedics, to fire marshals, to chiefs. And for all of you with us today, they were your parents, children, friends, and loved ones. Each of the names we add to the wall today represent lives that were lived, people that were loved, and heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for this Department and this City,” shared Acting Chief of Department John Esposito.
It’s a somber reality not lost on FDNY firefighter Ylli Mujaj, who was still in high school on 9/11. His downstairs neighbor Maurice Kelly was working at the World Trade Center on that day. Witnesses saw him running back-and-forth, helping people get out, according to Mujaj. When the towers came down, Kelly was killed.
“To lose 343 members at one fire is a significant event. To lose hundreds, if not thousands after the fact to cancer and that kind of stuff… that’s also very significant,” said Mujaj.
Examination of the dust on and after September 11, 2001, has revealed numerous toxic substances that could cause short and long-term health conditions to those exposed. Those contaminants remained in Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn months after 9/11. Now many who were exposed to those toxins are sick, according to the CDC.
Thousands were injured, and 2,977 people were killed at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania on 9/11.
It's a day Mujaj, much like the rest of the world, will never forget.
"It means that much more with each passing year. Seeing people making that sacrifice, knowing full well it was going to go south the way it did speaks volumes about our commitment to this job… and to how people can rise above humanity and become supernatural creatures,” shared Mujaj.
Annie Gimbel
