All three firefighters responded to the World Trade Center on September 11 , 2001 . These are cancers the federal government says are thought to be directly related to that effort -- cancers like leukemia , myeloma , thyroid and prostate cancers . They all died of illnesses related to their time spent at the site , they say . Hundreds of firefighters and rescue workers died from respiratory failure .
All three firefighters responded to the World Trade Center on September 11 , 2001 . They all died of illnesses related to their time spent at the site , they say . Hundreds of firefighters and rescue workers died from respiratory failure .