Akiko Matsuda

amatsuda@lohud.com

9/11 illness kills W.Nyack firefighter

WEST NYACK – Moments after the 9/11 attacks, FDNY firefighter Robert Leaver rushed to the World Trade Center from his home on Cherry Hill Lane and spent months with thousands of first responders on the rescue and recovery mission.

Leaver was diagnosed with leukemia in 2003, a year before he retired from the department. He continued his fight against the disease until this week, when he died at 56.

Leaver was one of the three retired firefighters who died Monday from 9/11-related illnesses. Leaver, Lt. Howard Bischoff of Jackson, N.J., and Firefighter Daniel Heglund of Rocky Point, N.Y. died within hours of each other on Monday.

Their deaths are "a painful reminder that 13 years later we continue to pay a terrible price for the department's heroic efforts," FDNY Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement.

Michael Schiralli, 52, Leaver's brother-in-law, said Leaver was a hero before the Sept. 11 attacks, but his life afterward was even more heroic.

"He never wanted to be called a hero, never considered himself one. He had a quiet strength and one of the biggest hearts I've ever known," Schiralli said. "Everybody loved him. He was very much part of the community, West Nyack."

Leaver's funeral will be at Francis of Assisi Church in West Nyack at 10 a.m. Friday.

The Brooklyn native was originally assigned to FDNY's Engine Co. 202 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. He later moved on to Division 3, Ladder 25 on 77th Street in Manhattan.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Leaver was off from work, but after hearing about the attacks, he immediately went down to Division 3 to join his co-workers, said his wife, Rosaria, 55.

"He was just a good guy, honorable, brave," said Rosaria Leaver, who said the couple had been together since they were 17.

Her husband had been receiving chemotherapy for the blood cancer for 11 years, she said.

"Chemo had lots of side effects," she said. "But he never complained about it."

"He was a fireman in every sense of the word," Schiralli agreed. "He was the kind of the person who gave a lot."

The Fire Department of New York lost 343 firefighters on 9/11. Many more are battling illnesses believed to stem from the contaminated air at the site.

The three deaths Monday raise to 92 the number of firefighters who died of illnesses directly related to the search for survivors. Their deaths come as advocates are urging Congress to reauthorize the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides medical treatment and compensation to those who got sick because of exposure to toxic air after Sept. 11.

The Associated Press contributed reporting for this article.

Twitter: @LohudAkiko