First Responders

Michael O’Connell joined the FDNY on May 5, 2001, as a Probationary Firefighter assigned to Engine 273 / Ladder 129 in Flushing. Only four months later, he deployed to Lower Manhattan on the morning of September 11, immediately after the terrorist attack on World Trade Center. For several weeks, he never went home, rotating between […]

Today, October 19, 2024, would have been the 59th birthday of NYPD Detective Luis G. Alvarez, a 9/11 hero whose testimony persuaded Congress to establish permanent compensation benefits for 9/11 community members with cancer or respiratory illness and their families.  Detective Alvarez, who appeared before Congress with comedian and 9/11 advocate Jon Stewart, died only […]

Today, May 28, 2024, marks the seventh anniversary of FDNY Firefighter Raymond J. Pfeifer’s passing. A 9/11 hero and Barasch & McGarry client, Pfeifer worked tirelessly to persuade Congress to establish permanent health and compensation benefits for 9/11 community members with cancer or respiratory illness and their families. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, […]

Today, February 6, 2024, would have been the 66th birthday of FDNY Firefighter Raymond J. Pfeifer, a 9/11 hero and Barasch & McGarry client. Pfeifer’s advocacy in large part persuaded Congress to establish permanent health and compensation benefits for 9/11 community members with cancer or respiratory illness and their families. After the terrorist attacks on […]

Congratulations to Barasch & McGarry Outreach Coordinator, Bridget Gormley, on receiving the 2023 Septimius Award for Best Short Documentary for her film, Dust: The Lingering Legacy of 9/11. The documentary is a tribute to her father Billy Gormley of Ladder 174, who died of 9/11-related bladder cancer. We are so proud and fortunate to have […]

Michael Barasch, Managing Partner of Barasch & McGarry, released the following statement on learning that the 343rd FDNY member had passed away as a result of a 9/11-related illness. “Today, FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh announced that we have lost our 343rd FDNY member to a 9/11 illness. “This tragic news was not unexpected, but it […]