NY Volunteer Firefighter Dies of 9/11-Related Cancer

A longtime New York volunteer firefighter who helped at Ground Zero in Manhattan died Tuesday of 9/11-related cancer.

Dennis Tortorella, 75, volunteered for more than 50 years with the Town of Mamaroneck Fire Department, the Rockland/Westchester Journal News reports. He served as a captain and was named an honorary chief for of his contributions to the department.

Tortorella was part of a group from Mamaroneck that drove to New York City the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, after a message from Westchester Fire Control asked any career and volunteer firefighters to head to the city to offer assistance. The group worked for hours to battle fires at 5 World Trade Center and nearby buildings.

"They assisted in any way they could," Tortorella's son, Paul, told the Journal News, adding that the experience had a deeply profound effect on his father.

“He could not watch videos of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center,” he said.

Tortorella was diagnosed with prostate cancer several years ago, and it had been linked to working at Ground Zero. He received treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City through the World Trade Center Health Program.

An Army veteran, Tortorella was part of a long firefighting family that included his father, his brother and both his sons.