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Some NYC first responders still fight for 9/11 benefits

Responders working for private ambulance crews or rescue squads can’t get benefit because they weren’t employed by the FDNY

By Mara Gay
The Wall Street Journal

NEW YORK — When the Fire Department of New York dispatched his ambulance to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Marvin Bethea raced toward the burning towers and worked for hours in the cloud of thick, gray dust.

Mr. Bethea, 55 years old, is now fully disabled and hasn’t been able to work in an ambulance since 2004. He is fed through a tube in his stomach after one of two strokes he had made him unable to swallow. He has asthma, high blood pressure and bouts of depression.

“Every day is a constant reminder of 9/11 because I’m sick,” he said in an interview from his living room in the Long Island community of West Hempstead.

Read full story: Some NYC Ambulance Crews Still Fight for Sept. 11 Benefit