Members of the City of Martin Fire Department take the Firefighters Walk on Sept. 11 in honor of the firefighters and first responders who lost their lives during and after the terrorist attacks on that date in 2001. Some 441 first responders, including 343 firefighters, were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
According to Fire and Safety Journal Americas, in the weeks and months that followed, tens of thousands of rescue workers, construction crews and volunteers worked at the World Trade Center recovery site, breathing in a toxic mixture of asbestos, silica, pulverized concrete, heavy metals and jet-fuel residue. Over time, exposure to this dust led to serious health problems.
According to data from the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, more than 5,000 additional deaths have been linked to 9/11-related illnesses, including cancers, chronic respiratory disease and heart conditions. Among these post-9/11 deaths are hundreds of firefighters, police officers and medical responders who developed illnesses from their work at Ground Zero. The FDNY alone has recorded more than 340 additional firefighter deaths from related diseases, equaling the number of firefighters who died on 9/11 itself.
