Within hours of each other, 3 firefighters who breathed in WTC dust die of cancer
New York Fire Department Lt. Howard Bischoff, 58, and firefighters Robert Leaver, 56, and Daniel Heglund, 58, all died from cancer within hours of each other on Monday. The three retired men had worked at the World Trade Center site following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The deaths of Bischoff, Leaver, and Heglund "are a painful reminder that 13 years later we continue to pay a terrible price for the department's heroic efforts," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement. One of the men had esophageal cancer, another had colon cancer, and the third had leukemia.
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Activists are asking Congress to reauthorize the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides monetary compensation and medical treatment for people who are ill after being exposed to the gritty air, which contained pulverized pieces of building materials, furniture, electronics, and more. On Sept. 11, 343 firefighters from the Fire Department of New York died, and the department believes that 89 firefighters — not including Bischoff, Leaver, or Heglund — died because of illnesses caused by the toxic dust.
