Three Ground Zero firemen die of cancer on same day

Three retired firefighters who worked at Ground Zero have died on the same day from cancer, an illness that many fear might be connected to toxic World Trade Center dust released on September 11, fire officials said.

Lt Howard Bischoff, 58, and firefighters Robert Leaver, 56, and Daniel Heglund, 58, died within hours of one another on Monday.

Heglund died just one day before his 59th birthday. Bischoff and Leaver grew up together in Brooklyn and were childhood friends. More than 2,500 New York police, firefighters, ambulance and sanitation workers have contracted diseases since the day of the attack.

Their deaths are “a painful reminder that 13 years later, we continue to pay a terrible price for the department’s heroic efforts,” Fire commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement.

Thousands of people who aided in the rescue and recovery effort were diagnosed with respiratory ailments and other health problems in the years after the attacks. Cancer, though, remains the biggest fear for people exposed to the gritty soot at the site.

Hundreds of first responders have developed cancer in the 13 years since the attacks, but doctors and researchers are still uncertain whether there is any link between those illnesses and 9/11. Cancer is the leading cause of death for Americans in their mid-40s to mid-60s, making it hard to tell which deaths, if any, might be related. Most medical studies have not found evidence of a substantial surge in cancer rates, though researchers have spotted some worrisome trends.

Congress has set aside $2.78bn to compensate people with illnesses that might be related to the attacks. The Fire Department of New York lost 343 firefighters on 9/11. The department maintains a memorial to 89 other firefighters it believes died of illnesses.

The deaths come as advocates urge Congress to reauthorise the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides treatment and compensation to those who got sick from exposure to toxic air after September 11.

One of the deceased had leukaemia, one had oesophageal cancer and the third had colon cancer.