Hero firefighter dies of 9/11 illness

One of the heroes from the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and who gained notoriety locally last year for his heroics has lost his battle with a 9/11-related illness. 
James Lanza, a retired New York firefighter, helped pull 16 survivors out of “miracle stairwell B” following the World Trade Center attacks. He was prominently featured in videos produced by the Steele County Times last summer when he traveled to Kasson for the traveling 9/11 tribute during the Dodge County Fair. 
Times managing editor Mark DeLap is traveling to New York City this week after being asked by New York City firefighters to speak at Lanza’s funeral. DeLap produced a video showcasing an extensive interview with Lanza for the Times’ website last summer. 
“When you found a body part or a body, we would put it on the stretcher, cover it with the American flag and march it out with honor to a temporary morgue that the city had set up,” Lanza recalled in the video interview with the Times. “The rewarding part of that… it may sound crazy to somebody else… was that we knew we were giving closure to a family member or a parent or a daughter.”
Less than four months into the year, Lanza, 71, of New York is the 10th firefighter to die of 9/11-related cancer so far this year.  In November, Lanza was diagnosed with metastatic brain cancer. 
At fire headquarters in downtown Brooklyn, a memorial for firefighters who died of 9/11-related illnesses has 126 names on it. More than 1,100 retired and active firefighters have been diagnosed with a disease linked to their time at Ground Zero. When the towers fell, 343 firefighters had died.

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The Times will share more about Lanza’s funeral on its website at steeledodgenews.com throughout the week and in next week’s print edition.