Safety & Health

Two Retired FDNY Firefighters Die from 9/11-Related Illnesses

Feb. 10, 2020

FDNY firefighter Richard Jones and Lt. Paul Deo Jr. both died Friday, and they each had served decades with the department at stations in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.

Source Firehouse.com News

FDNY firefighter Richard Jones (left) and Lt. Paul Deo Jr.

Two retired FDNY firefighters died of 9/11-related illnesses late last week.

Firefighter Richard Jones died Friday, the New York Daily News reports. He was 20-year veteran who served his career at Ladder 25 in Manhattan, which had seven firefighters die when the South Tower of the World Trade Center fell.

Jones was awarded "acts of merit" three times. He retired in October 2002.

FDNY Lt. Paul Deo Jr. also died Friday, according to the Daily News. He served 33 years with the department, with time at Engines 317 and 289 in Queens and Engine 42 in the Bronx.

Jones and Deo were among those firefighters who worked at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. So far, 218 FDNY members have died from 9/11-related illnesses, and that number could one day be more than the 343 who were killed at Ground Zero, the Daily News added.