NEW YORK — Thomas LaBarbiera’s life’s ambition was realized on Sept. 11, 2001, when, after years of desire and preparation, he was finally an FDNY firefighter racing to his first assignment: the Twin Towers terror attack.
That same day, he was given a death sentence that took more than two decades to carry out.
On Sept. 1, just 10 days shy of the 23rd anniversary of the terror attacks, LaBarbiera, now a 51-year-old FDNY captain, died following a courageous battle against liver cancer, his heartbroken family said. His illness was linked to his weeks at Ground Zero after the terror attacks, they said.
“It was his first day,” his brother Jonathan LaBarbiera told the Daily News, recalling his sibling’s response to the World Trade Center. “He was immediately thrown into the thick of things—digging out body parts and debris for 21 days straight.
“We believe something in the wreckage may have triggered the cancer that stayed with him for 23 years,” he said.
LaBarbiera’s FDNY career was defined by one of the largest recovery efforts in the city’s history. An estimated 2,753 people died after two hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center.
In death, he joins a growing list of first responders who haven’t been able to shake its lingering effects.
LaBarbiera was first diagnosed with his 9/11 illness in November last year, relatives said.
“He went for a routine health checkup as part of his FDNY requirements, and that’s when they found something strange in his bloodwork,” his brother recalled. “That’s how we learned it was liver cancer. It’s just heartbreaking—he was still working and didn’t retire, even while fighting cancer.”
Since 9/11 the FDNY has lost 370 members to Ground Zero-related illnesses, with 28 deaths since last year’s 22nd anniversary of the attack.
In 2023, the number of FDNY members to die of 9/11 illness exceeded 343 — the number of firefighters lost on 9/11.
The lives of these firefighters took different paths after recovery efforts ended, but their deaths are all inextricably linked to their time on the pile surrounded by the deadly toxins swirling around Ground Zero.
Here are just a few of their stories.
Captain Thomas LaBarbiera: Tragedy molds a life of heroism
LaBarbiera’s passion to become a firefighter began at a young age and was sparked by a terrible tragedy — the death of a close friend’s family member, who died in a fire when he was a child, his relatives said.
“That moment changed everything for him — he wanted to be the one saving lives,” his brother Jonathan, 49, reflected.
He didn’t hesitate to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an FDNY firefighter. After spending weeks at Ground Zero, he continued to excel at his career, ultimately becoming the captain of FDNY’s Division 3 on the Upper West Side.
During his career, LaBarbiera was known as being a hero both in and out of uniform and was hailed in 2016 for rescuing someone from a car fire on the Tappan Zee Bridge while off-duty.
He was still assigned to Division 3 — always greeting his team members with his hazel eyes and warm smile — when he could no longer stand his ground against the sickness corrupting his insides.
He died in hospice care, surrounded by relatives and members of his FDNY family, who kept a round-the-clock vigil for him in his final days.
“His last days were very weak,” his brother Jonathan said. “He could barely talk, barely eat, and was like skin and bones.
“I hate that he got cancer; I hate that he died,” Jonathan said somberly. “It’s terrible and heartbreaking. He was my hero, the person who taught me so much — about football, mountain biking, and life.”
LaBarbiera leaves behind two sons and a daughter.
On Friday, his son and namesake Thomas, a sophomore football player at Don Bosco Preparatory School in Ramsey, NJ., dedicated his team’s 44-0 victory over the Red Bank Catholic to his father.
After receiving the winning game ball, Thomas pointed to the sky as he remembered his dad, NJ.com reported.
Firefighter John “Burger” Tyrell: Living with a ticking time bomb
As soon as some of the firefighters he worked shoulder-to-shoulder with at Ground Zero started dying from a variety of 9/11 illnesses, John “Burger” Tyrell and his family worried that he would suffer the same fate.
That fear was realized in November 2021 when he was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer.
“He started getting sick [that August],” his son John Tyrell told The News. “He had trouble breathing, mucus buildup, and the treatments took a toll on him—especially the radiation, which severely affected him.”
After 31 years of saving people as a proud member of Engine Company 75 in the Bronx, Tyrell wasn’t shy about racing into the unknown.
But this time the life he was saving was his own, relatives said.
In January 2022, Tyrell needed an emergency tracheotomy. The surgery helped, but his health declined steadily over the next year, his son said.
On Aug. 30, he died in hospice care at 65.
“He couldn’t lie down to sleep because the coughing was so bad,” John shared. “For the last month, he had to sleep in a reclining chair, and I slept on the couch next to him.”
Tyrell is survived by his wife, a retired NYPD cop and four children, one of whom is currently a FDNY firefighter.
John Tyrell, 24, couldn’t fathom that one act of bravery and kindness more than two decades ago was responsible for his father’s death.
“I don’t remember 9/11 — I was too young — but we all knew the risks my dad faced that day, and we always feared something like this could happen,” he said. “It’s brutal. But we did what we could to prepare for it.
“It’s still terrible,” John said. “Hundreds, thousands of first responders are still dealing with the aftermath. We can’t change what happened, but we have to keep moving forward and do right by them.”
Firefighter Michael Cioffi: Quiet hero to the end
Five years into his career with the FDNY, Firefighter Michael Cioffi was assigned to Engine Company 54, Ladder 4 and Battalion 9 in Midtown Manhattan, which had the undue distinction of being the “hardest hit” fire company on 9/11 — an entire shift of 15 men were killed as the towers collapsed.
But Cioffi, 61, never spoke about that tragedy, relatives said. Nor would he talk about his months at Ground Zero, where his bosses put his expertise at operating heavy machinery to work in digging through the debris, looking for remains, his brother Henry Cioffi said.
“He didn’t like to talk much about 9/11, but he was on the pile every day, operating heavy machinery to help with the recovery until December,” his brother said. “He didn’t talk much about it, even though we would’ve loved to hear his stories. It was just the kind of guy he was.”
Cioffi’s firefighting career began in his hometown of Long Branch, N.J. He first joined the Long Branch Fire Department in 1980 and was sworn in by his father, who was then the mayor. In 1995, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of joining the FDNY and moved to New York.
“He loved New York,” Henry said. “It was his dream to be a firefighter there, and he followed that dream.”
He continued to fight fires in Midtown and Staten Island until 2020, when his reduced lung capacity — the result of a 9/11 illness — forced him into retirement.
A few months after retiring, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, another unwanted keepsake from his days at Ground Zero, his brother said.
Taking the deadly disease head on, Cioffi opted for the drastic “Whipple procedure” where doctors scooped out parts of his pancreas, as well as portions of the intestines and other impacted organs.
“[They] take out all your insides, trying to get rid of the cancer,” Henry said. “He did good for a year, but it came back. It spread. He went quick after that.”
Cioffi died on March 23.
“Michael was a hero to the very end,” his younger brother said, still devastated by his brother’s untimely death. “We’re still losing people. It makes me sick.
“The terrorists are still winning, in a sense, because people are still dying from what happened back then,” he said. “The damage they caused, it’s just never-ending.”
About 11,000 active and retired FDNY members have been diagnosed with at least one World Trade Center disease, officials said. Out of that number 3,500 are suffering from cancer.
During a solemn annual event held last week, 32 new names were added to the FDNY World Trade Center Memorial Wall.
“We have seen our members become sick because of time they spent working in the rescue and recovery,” Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said at the service. “Their losses have left gaping holes in our hearts that will not close. But while there is great sadness here, there is also tremendous gratitude for time spent, for promises kept, and in knowing that each of these members would do it all again if asked.
“That’s the beauty of the FDNY,” he said. “That’s the power of a place that’s home to people who are dedicated to doing good.”
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