3 NYC firefighters die on same day of 9/11-linked cancers

NEW YORK, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Three retired New York firefighters died on the same day of cancers linked to the hours they spent in the debris of the World Trade Center.

Lt. Howard Bischoff died Monday of colon cancer, while Daniel Heglund died of cancer of the esophagus and Robert Leaver of leukemia. Their deaths bring the number of New York firefighters killed by diseases linked to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to 92.

The deaths are a "a painful reminder that, 13 years later, we continue to pay a terrible price for the department's heroic efforts on September 11th," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.

The collapse of the Twin Towers after they were hit by planes hijacked by members of al-Qaida killed 343 members of the department.

Bischoff, 58, Heglund and Leaver, 56, were all retired after about two decades of service. Bischoff and Leaver were also childhood friends who grew up in the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn and remained close throughout their lives.

"I felt at least Robert and Howie went off to heaven together," Rosaria Leaver told the New York Daily News.

Rosaria Leaver said her husband went to the World Trade Center even though he was off duty the day of the attacks. She said he liked having a job that gave his life purpose.

"Even after he was first diagnosed with leukemia in 2003, he never wanted to be called a 9/11 victim," she said. "He would say, 'The innocent people in the towers were the victims. Don't ever call me a victim. I was a first responder.'"