9/11 Illnesses Still Have a Devastating Impact on Firefighters

In July 2019, officials in New York reported that 200 firefighters had died from illnesses related to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Richard Driscoll was named as the 200th firefighter to die from a World Trade Center-related illness. He served in the FDNY for 32 years and was cited for bravery five times before he retired from Engine 91 in East Harlem in 2002.

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said that "it is almost incomprehensible that after losing 343 members on September 11, we have now had 200 more FDNY members die due to World Trade Center illness". The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that exposure to the attacks has resulted in a range of health conditions from traumatic injuries to diseases of the respiratory and digestive systems.

The following infographic provides an overview of the increasing numbers of FDNY personnel dying from illnesses due to 9/11. The data is from the Uniformed Firefighters Association of New York who, as of September 6, 2021, now list a total of 250 FDNY deaths from 9/11 illnesses.