Forever heroes: Four 9/11 firefighters from Long Island remembered

The FDNY firefighter from Glen Cove who ran a 5-kilometer race for cancer patients, even while undergoing radiation for a brain tumor.

The Bellport firefighter who came off medical leave to assist in the Ground Zero rescue and recovery effort.

The FDNY lieutenant who would find a second career as a Williston Park village trustee and Herricks school board member.

The Vietnam vet from Seaford who spent three months on the pile desperately searching for signs of life.

Countless lives cut short, with no end in sight.

Nearly 19 years after the towers went down and New York City was changed forever, the death toll among its Bravest grows ever higher.

With Friday's anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in mind, the FDNY on Wednesday added 27 former members, including a dozen from Long Island, to the department's World Trade Center Memorial Wall in Brooklyn. Family members were prohibited from attending the ceremony because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“These are not simply names on a wall,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said during the ceremony. "They are brave individuals who swore oaths to protect others. They are our friends and colleagues we have watched courageously battle cancer and other illnesses. Difficult battles that are rarely won. They have ultimately succumbed to the illnesses they acquired because they never hesitated to run into trouble to help others."

A total of 226 FDNY members have died from 9/11-related illnesses while another 343 lost their lives in the terror attacks — a roll call of bravery now so extensive that it forced the fire department to expand the wall's size to include additional names.

Here are a few of their stories:

Robert Espinal

Don't forget. 

That's the message from Miriam Espinal of Glen Cove, whose husband, firefighter Roger Espinal, 42, succumbed Sept. 14, 2019 to glioblastoma, a brain tumor linked to his time at Ground Zero. 

"I hope people don't forget 9/11 happened," she said. "I know 19 is a random number. But I hope they don't forget everyone who lost their lives. Say their names. Remember them. Do something in their honor or give money to charity."

Her husband's illness came as a shock to his family.

Roger Espinal was a do-it-yourself type who would spend weekends landscaping the front yard and remodeling the kitchen. A fitness buff, Espinal ran a 5k on Randalls Island to raise money for brain cancer patients, even while undergoing radiation treatment.

The couple, who married in 2013, had just started a family. Their son Noah is 5 years old

And now, nearly a year after her husband's death, Miriam Espinal is undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"This year," she said, "has been an epic disaster."

Despite her exhaustion, Espinal traveled Wednesday to her husband's firehouse — Engine 320 in Bayside — where she watched online as his name was inscribed on the FDNY's memorial wall. 

"I can't believe this is still going on," Espinal said of the rising death toll from 9/11. "It's still happening every day. It doesn't end."

Michael Feldman

Michael Feldman was under no compulsion to race to lower Manhattan on that clear Tuesday morning nearly 19 years ago.

The Bellport firefighter, who dreamed of joining the FDNY after spending years as a volunteer in Long Beach, was on medical leave with a shoulder injury on Sept. 11 but insisted he felt fine enough to resume service. He would spend the next seven months on the smoldering wreckage, searching for signs of life and later recovering bodies and equipment.

Feldman, who worked 17 years with Ladder 161 in Brooklyn, would pay a price for his heroics. He was diagnosed in 2011 with a rare stomach cancer linked to his time at Ground Zero and died Feb. 1. He was 62.

"He fought like a tiger," said his widow Donna Feldman. "You would never know he was sick. Even with the weight loss and liver failure he never gave up hope."

Feldman said her husband was immensely proud of his career and never regretted assisting in the recovery efforts.

"He always told me that if he could go back, he'd do his career all over again," she said. "He had zero regrets."

Kevin Dunn

FDNY Lt. Kevin Dunn never complained. It just wasn't his way.

Not when he spent weeks on the pile searching for victims or when he developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare, autoimmune disorder that causes muscle weakness and nerve damage.

And Dunn didn't complain when he was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer that develops in the lining of the abdomen.

"He was an all-around great guy who would help anybody," said his widow, Tina Dunn. "He never complained about his illnesses, even to the last breath."

Kevin Dunn, stationed at Engine 251 in Glen Oaks, spent nearly 20 years on the job before transitioning to a second career — as a village trustee in his hometown of Williston Park and as a Herricks school board member. He was forced to step down from the posts because of his illnesses. Dunn, 58, died May 6.

On Saturday, Dunn's family will spread his ashes on the beach in Flanders, where they own a small home. 

"He sacrificed his life for 9/11," Dunn said. "He should be remembered. He was a hero."

Joseph Losinno

Joseph Losinno's life was dedicated to public service, first in Vietnam and then 33 years with the FDNY.

It was no surprise when Losinno, then with Engine 302 in South Ozone Park, spent three months on the pile at Ground Zero, assisting any way he could.

Nancy Losinno, his widow, called the autumn of 2001 "hell" for her family. 

"It was an awful time," she said. "The experience of 9/11 was hard on cops and firemen. But if you had any previous history of [post-traumatic stress disorder], which Joe did from Vietnam, it just got worse."

Joseph Losinno would suffer through years of depression after his retirement in 2002 and later developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, known as COPD, an inflammatory lung affliction common among many 9/11 first responders. 

The illness made walking and climbing stairs difficult and required breathing treatments and nebulizers. Losinno would develop blood clots that traveled to his lungs and eventually caused sepsis. He was 75 when he died Sept. 13, 2019.

"He was a funny, kind and humble man," Nancy Losinno said. "He was generous with his time; devoted to family and his pets. He left a lasting impression and we just miss him so much."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.