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Air Today . . . Gone Tomorrow Article
'Ironman'Tragedy
By Carl Campanile,
New York Post, February 28, 2005
Firefighter Robert Ryan was an Ironman — competing in grueling triathlons across the
globe as well as tackling fires.
But his days of swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and running 26.2 miles in
succession, and fighting fires are over.
The World Trade Center disaster, he said, has destroyed his health.
These days, Ryan can't climb the stairs without running short of breath — one of the
symptoms he attributes to breathing foul air and dust for months while working on the
search and recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
"I tire easily now," said Ryan, 46. "It's a scary situation. I have to be
on medication the rest of my life."
Ryan, a firefighter with Ladder 30 in Harlem, is assigned to light duty. He has applied
for a retirement disability pension due to work-related illnesses caused by working in an
environmental disaster zone.
Ryan was diagnosed with asthma, and said he suffers from sinus conditions, chest pains and
persistent throat problems and acid indigestion.
"It's like heartburn multiplied by 100," he said of the burning sensation in his
throat and chest that sometimes wake him in the middle of the night.
Now, he worries about providing for his 5-year-old son, Matthew.
Because his serious respiratory and asthmatic conditions didn't surface until 2003, the
federal 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund rejected his application for benefits. The fund had
distributed $627 million to 1,388 injured firefighters and $84.7 million to 205 cops.
Stunned and angered by the lack of support, Ryan is one of a growing number of municipal
workers and other volunteers who've filed multimillion-dollar negligence suits against the
city and Ground Zero operators, claiming the bosses failed to provide adequate respiratory
gear to protect them from pollutants.
I was the first person in my firehouse to get sick. I know guys who are getting the same
symptoms," said Ryan, during an interview with his lawyers.
Ryan said workers were driven by saving lives and helping put the city back on its feet
during the five-month rescue, recovery and cleanup effort — not obsessed about their
own health.
"If you had trouble breathing, you went to get a drink of water. It was tunnel
vision. We had a job to do. That's all that mattered at the time," Ryan recalled.
"No matter, breathing this stuff couldn't be good for you. We were constantly getting
bombarded with dust in our face."
But while firefighters were trying to save people and restore the city, Ryan said, the
unprepared brass didn't protect them.
Dr. Michael Weiden, a medical officer in the city Fire Department, has likened breathing
WTC dust, consisting of pulverized concrete, fibrous glass, carbon particulates and
asbestos, to "swallowing or inhaling Drano."
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