NEW YORK — A former FDNY battalion chief was buried on Wednesday after succumbing to World Trade Center-related cancer.
NY Daily News reported that Batt. Chief James Costello, 52, died the day before Thanksgiving and was buried in New Jersey after a Catholic funeral mass.
“The effect it [World Trade Center illnesses] has had on members of this department … and our families is devastating,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
Nigro spoke after a World Trade Center Steering Committee meeting and urged Congress to quickly reauthorize the Zadroga Act.
“World Trade Center illness is not going away and this program cannot go away either,” Nigro said.
About 1,000 firefighters are currently battling World Trade Center-related illnesses, according to Nigro.