9/11 hero, 58, dies
NYFD vet was advocate for fellow first-responders
Retired FDNY firefighter Jimmy Martinez, who survived two World Trade Center attacks and weathered Hurricane Sandy, died Friday from bone marrow cancer caused by Ground Zero toxins. He was 58. The 26-year veteran was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2013. Three years later, a miracle donation of stem cells pushed his cancer into remission — inspiring the Staten Island native to continue fighting for his fellow first responders.
Last March, Martinez donated a 10-passenger van to the FDNY Fire Family Transport Foundation to help ferry sick smoke-eaters back and forth from treatment.
“I know firsthand the difference this van will make,” Martinez said at the time. “I’m still here thanks to my faith, a stem-cell donor, help from family and friends — which includes my brothers from my firehouse.”
Martinez was on the job in 1993, when terrorists bombed the World Trade Center. He returned almost a decade later on 9/11, and stayed for weeks to help with recovery efforts.
“He’s there on 9/11. He’s there in Brooklyn. He’s there in Hurricane Sandy. In my mind, it’s just unbelievable,” Chief of Department James Leonard marveled during last year’s van donation.
Martinez made such an impact that he inspired his own son, also named Jimmy, to join the FDNY.
Friends shared their memories of the hero firefighter on Facebook.
“Jimmy Martinez was such a nice guy. He worked at my dad’s firehouse, and always had a smile for us,” wrote Laura Peterson, whose father, Dennis Peterson, worked at Ladder Company 80 and died in 1981.
“My sister and I were both swabbed a few years ago, hoping we would be a bone marrow match for him,” she wrote.
Martinez joined the FDNY in January 1990 with Ladder Company 157 on Staten Island, and stayed there until his retirement in January 2016.
He leaves behind his wife, Maria, and three children: Jimmy, 31, and daughters Alyssa, 25, and Eileen, 37.
His wake will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at the John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals in Eltingville. His funeral will be held Thursday at nearby St. Clare’s Church at 11 a.m.