The New York City Fire Department says there have now been 200 firefighters who've died from illnesses related to working at the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Firefighter Richard Driscoll, who served the department for 32 years, was the 200th FDNY member to die from a 9/11-related illness, the FDNY announced this week.
"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. These heroes gave their lives bravely fighting to rescue and recover others. We will never forget them,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement.
The Vietnam War veteran was cited for bravery five times during his FDNY career. Driscoll died Wednesday and was the second FDNY member to die this week from World Trade Center related illnesses. Retired firefighter Kevin Nolan died Tuesday, the Uniformed Firefighters Association announced.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted out a photo of both men and urged Congress to fully fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
"200 members of the FDNY have now succumbed to WTC-related illness. They didn’t hesitate to run into danger. They stayed until the work was done," he tweeted.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that the Senate will vote Tuesday on a bipartisan bill to ensure the victims' compensation fund never runs out of money.
