Battalion chief lost son in WTC attack

A beloved FDNY battalion chief from Staten Island who lost his son on 9/11 has died of coronavirus.

Al Petrocelli succumbed to the virus on Wednesday morning. He was 73 years old.

Petrocelli went to his doctor on March 17 complaining of fatigue — he was sleeping around the clock, his wife Ginger told the Staten Island Advance. He was diagnosed on March 24, a week before his death.

The Petrocellis wed in 1967, just before Al shipped off to Vietnam. After he returned a year later, the Petrocellis settled in Staten Island. They had two sons, Al Jr. and Mark.

Petrocelli joined the Fire Department, and with help from the GI Bill he got a degree from John Jay College. He rose through the ranks and retired as a battalion chief.

His son Al Jr. followed his father’s footsteps and became an FDNY battalion chief himself.

His younger son, Mark Petrocelli, became a commodities broker. Days before the Sept. 11, 2001, he took a job at Carr Futures, which was based at 1 World Trade Center.

The morning of the terror attacks, Mark Petrocelli had a meeting on the 92nd floor. He and 68 other Carr employees perished in the tragedy.

Petrocelli was present in December 2002 when Mayor

Mike Bloomberg dedicated a memorial near the medical examiner’s office on First Ave. near E. 30th St., where victims’ remains were stored.

“All of his remains weren’t found, [but] I know that some of him is here,” Petrocelli said.

When he visited New York in 2015, Pope Francis blessed prayer cards and rosary beads in Mark Petrocelli’s honor, the Advance said.

In addition to his wife, Al is survived by his son, Albert Jr., his daughter-in-law Andrea and his grandchildren.