Names of 14 from Long Island who died from 9/11 illness added to FDNY HQ memorial in Brooklyn

The FDNY on Wednesday honored 36 members — including 14 with ties to Long Island — whose names were added to an ever-growing memorial dedicated to firefighters and EMS personnel who continue to die of 9/11-related illnesses.

Families and friends of the deceased gathered at the department’s headquarters in Brooklyn to honor their loved ones and the hundreds who have died of various cancers, as well as cardiovascular, respiratory and other illnesses related to their recovery efforts at Ground Zero.

The ceremony began outside FDNY headquarters, where New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said those present were not only honoring the fallen but also rededicating "ourselves to the enduring work of making New York City worthy of each and every one of their memories.

“Our city is so much worse without them," Mamdani added. “And yet we are so much better for having known them."

After FDNY Chaplain Joseph Hoffman read each of the 36 names, a member of the department rang a bell. With each toll, a relative or friend of the deceased member, or a fellow first responder, then placed a white flower in front of the wall. One woman kissed the petals as she approached the memorial, the left half of which had been filled with a total of 438 names.

Each name added to the wall represents a new reminder “that the legacy of Sept. 11 doesn’t end on a single day," FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore told those in attendance Wednesday.

“The tragedy did not end when the rescue and recovery efforts were over," Bonsignore added. “For decades afterward, our members continued to become ill of the toxic environment they willingly entered in the service of others."

The number of FDNY members who died of World Trade Center-related illnesses exceeds the 343 members who died when the Twin Towers fell in 2001. Those first responders’ names are enshrined at FDNY Ten House on Liberty Street in Manhattan.

More than 600 firefighters and EMS personnel, including those who were retired but helped recovery efforts at Ground Zero, have died of 9/11-related illnesses, the FDNY said in a report released Tuesday. That report counted 451 active-duty firefighters who died of diseases related to the terror attacks. The Brooklyn memorial counts only 438 names because more members have died since the department ordered this year’s name plaques in June, an FDNY spokesperson said.

Those deceased members honored Wednesday who lived on Long Island at some point during their lives include: Lt. John J. Brown, EMS Deputy Chief David Burke, Lt. James A. Daly, EMS Capt. David J. Fenton, Fire Marshal Cliff C. Krug, pilot Steven W. Lukawski, firefighter John G. McCann, EMS Lt. James F. McGee IV, firefighter Michael J. Reutter, Capt. Kevin L. Roth, firefighter Eugene P. Schramm Jr., Capt. Walter J. Werner, firefighter Timothy G. Westhall and firefighter Robert V. West Jr.

Newsday's Caroline Curtin contributed to this story.