Long Islanders added to wall of FDNY members lost to 9/11 illnesses

The FDNY added the names of 16 Long Islanders and 27 others Wednesday to its memorial wall of service members who have died of illnesses related to their work at Ground Zero.

The total number of FDNY members lost to illnesses connected to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks now totals 341, just two shy of matching the number of department personnel killed when the Twin Towers collapsed.

"The numbers continue to grow, and so does our heartbreak," FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh told hundreds of grieving family members and firefighters, accompanied by Mayor Eric Adams at the fire department's Brooklyn headquarters.

"Twenty-two years ago, next week, we lost 343 members. The losses, as we all know far too well did not end that day. It continued to grow in the two decades since," Kavanagh said. "Our members are still dying from illnesses sustained because of the brave and selfless time they spent at the World Trade Center site."

Christopher Geraghty of Setauket said he knows the brotherhood of the FDNY all too well. He is a fourth-generation department firefighter. It's part of the healing process to honor and remember those lost, he said.

Geraghty, 36, lost his uncles, both FDNY firefighters, on 9/11. His father, retired FDNY Batallion Chief Stephen Geraghty, 62, of Rockville Centre, died last year of brain cancer related to his time at Ground Zero, his son said.

Stephen Geraghty rushed to the pile after the attacks and worked there for several months, according to his son.

"His brothers were missing and countless friends. I don't think there was ever a doubt in his mind that he would do anything …" Christopher Geraghty said. "I think that's the way firemen are. If there's somebody in trouble, if one of their buddies is missing, there's no wall that's gonna stop them."

Retired FDNY firefighter Joseph Tripptree, 66, of Freeport, lost his brother George, an FDNY firefighter on 9/11, last September to cancer. George Tripptree's name was added to the wall Wednesday.

Tripptree said there was no hesitation in responding to Ground Zero, but he never thought the illnesses would follow.

"It's tough. You're going to see more people die every year and it always surprises you," Tripptree said. "I would never think anything like this would happen where so many people get sick and die."

Eric Friszell, of Westbury, came to honor both his parents who died of 9/11-related illnesses. The name of his mother, EMS Capt. Faye Baughman, who died in 2020, was added to the wall Wednesday, joining Friszell's father, Deputy Chief Joeddy Friszell, whose name was added after he died in 2018.

"Their view of the job never changed," Eric Friszell said of his parents. "They never said that they wouldn't ever do it again, they would be down there in a heartbeat, whether they were retired or not."

FDNY Deputy Chief James Brosi, who also serves as president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, said the association is working to limit exposures to harmful chemicals. He urged firefighters to check for early detection of related illnesses.

The name of his father, FDNY Lt. Joseph Brosi of Queens, was added to the wall Wednesday.

"Sadly, I believe that number will grow even higher. Unfortunately, even shortly after the collapse, we knew that the exposure would be high, " James Brosi said. "And we knew that the sacrifice would be extreme. I don't think anybody thought to be this extreme."

He said the growing number of first responders would soon pass those who died on 9/11.

"I think it's a big burden. I think we've been building up to it slowly … And I just think that they know more is coming," Brosi said. "And we certainly have more people working, more people retired that are living fully functional lives that don't know whether or not they may be next."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.