The funeral of a gay former firefighter who was among the first to respond to the 9/11 terror attack at the Pentagon in 2001 will take place on Tuesday.

Family members attribute Phillip Curtis McKee’s death to complications from injuries and illness linked to three days of fighting the Pentagon fire following the 9/11 attack, including inhalation of toxic dust, a severe leg injury that resulted in him being wheel chair bound, and a prolonged bout of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr McKee’s husband, Nopadon McKee, says he spent the last 12 years of his life working as an artist, businessman and author. Nopadon believes Phillip’s post-traumatic stress disorder eventually took its toll.

The two married in Virginia in 2006. Three years later, they adopted a local teenage boy they had been mentoring.

The funeral of Phillip Curtis McKee will take place on Tuesday in Arlington.

He died aged 41.