NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The FDNY is mourning the loss of another 9/11 hero.
Retired FDNY Captain Michael Lyons died on Tuesday at the age of 53. He is the 276th firefighter to succumb to a 9/11-related illness.
Lyons wrote several articles about his battle with Stage 4 cancer in the publications FDNY Pro and WNYF, and often offered advice and encouragement to fellow firefighters.
He joined the FDNY in 1998 and worked in Engine 228 in Brooklyn, Engine 59 in Manhattan, Ladder 153 in Queens and Ladder 148 in Brooklyn. He also served as a fire officer with Ladder 30 in Manhattan before retiring in 2019 as a captain.
“Mike was cited for many acts of heroism throughout his career including a miraculous rescue at the WTC site days after 9/11,” the Uniformed Fire Officers Association said in a statement. “A tragic loss to our department and to our brotherhood.”
On Sept. 11, 2001, Lyons and a team of firefighters rescued Port Authority engineer Pasquale Buzzelli who became trapped in the rubble after the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
Buzzelli was reunited with his pregnant wife, who gave birth to their daughter just weeks after the terror attacks.
“He saved my life on 9/11, and we’ve been friends ever since,” Buzzelli told the New York Daily News. “My kids love him. He was an amazing person.”
Lyons was born in Brooklyn, but spent most of his childhood in Ireland after his family moved there when he was 8, according to his obituary.
He graduated from National University Ireland Galway in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in history and English, and joined the FDNY eight years later.
Lyons, who lived in Dix Hills, Long Island, is survived by his two children, his parents and brothers, as well all 10 nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, close friends, and his FDNY family.
Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Monday at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church on Wolf Hill Road in Melville.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ray Pfeifer foundation.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 343 firefighters were killed responding to the attack on the World Trade Center.
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