Former East New York Firefighter Dies From 9/11 Related Illness

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — A former East New York firefighter who rushed to the World Trade Center on 9/11 died from a related illness more than 20 years later, the FDNY announced Thursday.

Frederick "Freddy" Gallagher, of West Islip in Long Island, passed away Tuesday, according to the FDNY and an online obituary. Newsday reports Gallagher was 61.

Gallagher served as a firefighter for 26 years, joining Brooklyn's Engine 290 in March 1986 and retiring in May 2012 the Ladder Company 103, according to the FDNY and the obituary. FDNY Engine 290/Ladder 103 is found on Sheffield Avenue in East New York.

A funeral mass will be held for Gallagher — a devoted husband to his wife Ellen — on March 7 at Our Lady of Lourdes R.C. Church in West Islip.

The family suggests donations be made in Gallagher's memory to the FDNY Fire Family Transport Foundation.

Almost 3,000 people died during of the terrorist attack on New York on Sept. 11, 2001, among them 343 members of the FDNY.

On the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the FDNY reported 257 members had since died of illnesses linked to Ground Zero.