Firefighters

This year, as we celebrate Labor Day Weekend, we should remember that the story of our community – the 9/11 community – has been defined by the contributions of labor unions and their members. That community includes the first responders who arrived within seconds of the terrorist attacks, risking and tragically losing their lives to […]

Today, May 28, 2025, is the eighth anniversary of FDNY Firefighter Raymond J. Pfeifer’s passing. He was 59 years old. 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 […]

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, 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 […]