PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A group of about a dozen Philadelphia police officers was sent to New York City 24 years ago to help with recovery and communications at Ground Zero. Many of them, including Mark Fischer, are now sick with cancer and other illnesses.
“I am in need for a lung transplant,” Fischer said. “It has been a struggle.”
Fisher was the commander of the Philadelphia Crime Scene Unit and was sent to New York in 2001 by then-Police Commissioner John Timmoney to help recover human remains.
“It was nonstop,” he remembered of sifting through the toxic debris and ash. “Ten inches of dust on the sidewalk and in the streets. As you were walking, you were kicking the dust up.”
During those two weeks on site, he injured his leg, though the emotional scars run deeper.
“There was a coffee cup that was not moved because I could see the dust, and I was thinking to myself — this poor person, they came to work, were looking out over the city, having their cup of coffee and whatnot, and they get killed.”
Fisher, who never smoked, was diagnosed more than a decade ago with lung disease by doctors with the World Trade Center Health Fund. He said the disease has progressed greatly in the last two years.
“My life expectancy after a transplant may only be five years,” he said. “That kind of burns me up because the city hasn’t acknowledged my ailments.”
Several of the officers who went to Ground Zero first pleaded with the city in 2020 to acknowledge their illnesses as ones suffered on duty, which would allow them certain health benefits. They were denied, but have now reignited their appeal.
The mayor’s office said it is “looking into the issue” and will have more of a response later on Thursday.