September 9, 2025
On Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, the FDNY added to the World Trade Center Memorial Wall the names of 39 members who died of illnesses related to their work in the rescue and recovery efforts following September 11th.
"This year, we add 39 names to our World Trade Center Memorial Wall. These losses continue to mount, and our heartbreak continues to grow," FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said during Tuesday's remembrance ceremony. "To the families here today, I say: Thank you for coming. Thank you for letting us support you. Thank you, as well, for letting us he your loved ones for so long. Something we hear at the FDNY a lot is that we are a family. This means we share losses and pain. Everyone here today understands the agony of the sacrifice your loved ones made, and they mourn with you. They vow—as we all do—to never forget."
To date, the Department has lost more than 400 members to World Trade Center-related illnesses.
"The names we add to the wall today are not just names on a plaque. They were parents, children, friends and colleagues," Chief of Department John Esposito said. "World Trade Center illness has touched every corner of this Department—firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, fire marshals, officers, chiefs and our civilian workforce. For all of you gathered here, these names represent the people you loved. To each of you, we continue to make this promise: We will never forget them. Their courage, sacrifice and their brery will always be a part of the history and spirit of this Department."
Mayor Eric Adams said: "These were parents, these were sons. These were brothers, these were sisters. We need to humanize what happened those 24 years ago and not allow time to erode how significant it was—the countless number of men and women who ran toward danger, and we're still losing lives every day."
The inscription on the Memorial Wall reads: "Dedicated to the memory of those who brely served this department protecting life and property in the City of New York in the rescue and recovery effort at Manhattan Box 5-5-8087 World Trade Center."
The names of the members added to the wall are as follows:
Firefighter Peter A. Quinn Firefighter Arill Nyquist Firefighter Stephen E. Russack Firefighter Jose L. Hickson Firefighter Joseph J. Scaramuzzino Firefighter Joseph F. Tumulty Firefighter Michael A. Wallace Firefighter Edward D. Thompson Firefighter James B. Johnsen Firefighter John Tyrrell, Jr. Captain Thomas S. LaBarbiera EMS Lt Anthony S. Cozzino Deputy Chief Nicholas J. Visconti Lieutenant James S. Cooney, Sr. Firefighter Thomas E. Ryan Lieutenant Patrick J. Ward Firefighter Christopher W. McCormack EMS Division Chief Mark E. Steffens Firefighter John F. Connolly Firefighter Anthony F. Mastrelli Firefighter Christopher J. Bach Firefighter Lawrence T. Murphy Auto Mechanic Richard O. Sarnes, Jr. Firefighter Thomas H. Gitt Firefighter Neil G. Gimpel Firefighter Michael A. DeBenedetto Battalion Chief Dennis J. Collopy Firefighter Thomas L. Dunn Carpenter Frank T. Leanza EMS Lieutenant Pamela Hehn Lieutenant James T. Sweeney Firefighter Brian T. Fitzgerald Firefighter Edwin J. Steffens Battalion Chief Eugene T. Kelty, Jr. Firefighter Daniel J. McCauley Firefighter Christopher J. Revere Fire Marshal Ronald A. Mitchell Lieutenant Vincent C. McMahon, Jr. Firefighter Robert S. Okorn