FDNY adds 39 more names of personnel who died of 9/11-related illnesses

Five-year-old Logan Albert, cradled in the arm of his mother, Jacqueline Murphy-Albert of Babylon, gazed up at the World Trade Center Memorial Wall in downtown Brooklyn at FDNY headquarters, where the engraved name of his grandfather, retired city firefighter Lawrence T. Murphy of East Islip, had just been unveiled.

A bell tolled 39 times; 39 white roses were placed in memoriam by widows and other loved ones. Murphy’s widow, Janice — Murphy-Albert’s mother, Logan’s grandmother — placed a rose at the base of the memorial on behalf of the family.

Lawrence T. Murphy, who died Nov. 18 at age 77 of 9/11-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was one of 39 names — mostly firefighters but also other FDNY personnel such as medics, supervisors, chiefs, a carpenter and a fire marshal — added Tuesday. The 39 had been fatally stricken with ailments caused by toxins to which they had been exposed while working at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The most recent deaths ranged from Jan. 6, 2024 (firefighter Arill Nyquist) to April 20 (firefighter Robert S. Okorn), but also included a firefighter who died on Jan. 21, 2019 (Peter A. Quinn) whose death, according to FDNY spokeswoman Amanda Farinacci, was recently certified as being connected to 9/11 toxins.

"These losses continue to mount, and our heartbreak continues to grow," Robert S. Tucker, New York City’s fire commissioner, said at the ceremony, which is held annually.

At least a third of those added on Tuesday have Long Island connections, according to Newsday research.

There are now 402 names on the memorial, which was constructed in 2011 and had to be expanded in 2020 because so many FDNY personnel were dying of 9/11-related ailments, then-acting commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at 2022’s ceremony, when there had been 299 such deaths.

Now the roster eclipses the number of FDNY personnel killed in the attack itself: 343.

"It’s hard to believe that so much time has passed as we remember the 343 members who died that day," Tucker said. "It’s difficult to believe that those losses didn’t end then."

Murphy-Albert was part of a family delegation of eight, including Murphy's daughters, grandchildren and sons-in-law. Families of the 39 sat in reserved rows. Murphy-Albert, 35, said her dad was devoted to the family — but also the fire department, even in retirement.

Murphy, who retired in 2005, had been assigned to Ladder 157 in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood.

"He would always come in — he missed coming to Brooklyn all the time — and whenever he had doctors appointments, he would always visit," she said. "He would come and have coffee with the new guys that were on. He always kept that connection."

Murphy had worked for a few months after the attacks at Ground Zero doing rescue and recovery.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 400,000 people were exposed to the toxic air in the area, and about 80,000 people have been sickened.

Mayor Eric Adams, speaking at the ceremony, assailed a viral episode two years ago on TikTok in which some young people discovered, and reacted sympathetically, to the 2002 "Letter to America" by 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden in which he justifies attacking United States targets because of what he considered to be Western meddling in the Mideast, oppressing Muslims and undue support for Israel.

"We’re in a society now where our heroes are demonized," Adams said. "It is unimaginable when you watch on social media some of our young people who are lifting up the name of bin Laden. They thought that America deserved what happened."