The list goes on.
The FDNY added the names of 39 members who have died in the last year from 9/11-related incidents to a memorial at the department’s Brooklyn headquarters.
Just days before the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attack on New York City, officials added to a long list of victims who perished on Sept. 11, 2001, when hijacked planes crashed into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center, killing more than 2,700 people, including 343 members of the FDNY.
The Fire Department has lost more than 400 members to World Trade Center-related illnesses, surpassing the 343 firefighters killed on Sept. 11.
“It’s difficult to believe that those losses didn’t end there,” said Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker, speaking at the annual outdoor commemoration ceremony. “These losses continue to mount, and our heartbreak continues to grow. We are a family. This means we share losses and pain. Everyone here today, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, fire marshals, fire-protection inspectors, dispatchers and the great civilian staff of the FDNY, understand the agony of the sacrifice your loved ones made, and they mourn with you.”
The first responders honored were among those who flocked to Ground Zero in the days, weeks and months after the attack to rescue and recover victims from the toxic debris. They suffered respiratory and cancer-related illnesses as a result of their sacrifice.
“Countless numbers of men and women ran toward danger, and we’re still losing lives every day,” said Mayor Adams. “On Sept. 12, we got up. Teachers taught, builders built and retailers sold their goods. Because we got up, America got up.”
A bell was rung and flowers were stacked for each of the the members on the list.
The newly honored firefighters include Joseph Tumulty, 69, who died on July 3, 2024. Tumulty, of Lindenhurst, Long Island, served the FDNY for more than 30 years, assigned to Engine 55 and then later to Engine 294.
Also honored was Richie Sarnes Jr., 53, of Tottenville, Staten Island, a retired FDNY emergency crew auto mechanic who worked as part of the Ground Zero cleanup and recovery effort. He died Nov. 22, 2024.
“We are reminded that the tragedy of that day has not and does not end,” said FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito. “The names we add to the wall today are not just names on a plaque. They were parents, children, friends and colleagues.”
