GROUND ZERO VICTIM
A family remembers, one year later

It’s been a little over a year, but the pain is still fresh for Roseann Delano, who vows to never let her husband’s memory fade – just as thousands of others who lost loved ones on 9/11, or in the eight years since – vow.
Kevin M. Delano Sr., one of New York City’s Bravest, out of Engine 285 Ladder 142 in Ozone Park – and Chief of the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department (WHBVFD) – passed away on July 30, 2008 from various illnesses his wife says are attributable to his work at Ground Zero.
“He was there as the second building collapsed,” she told The Courier. “He was down there for days, but it seemed like forever. He even lost his best friend, Ray York, at the site.”
“He went into the piles from the beginning,” said WHBVFD Chief Jonah Cohen, who spent two days transporting patients near the site.
Cohen explained that a breathing apparatus lasts about 15 minutes, but less if the wearer is working hard. He also went on to say that an “average” mask would only block big particles, not the minute ones.
“They downplayed what was really in the air. It was one of those things that a lot of people did a lot of work to save lives,” he said. “People were on those piles for months – with all those acrid gases – you could see it, it was very cloudy. I know a few people with cancer because of 9/11.”
After his work at Ground Zero was complete, Delano, who grew up in Hamilton Beach and had few health problems prior to 9/11, was devastated by the magnitude of the destruction and loss, said Roseann.
“Nothing was ever normal after that,” she said, noting that her husband planned and attended several funerals for fellow firefighters in the weeks following the tragedy.
After the rescue efforts, the FDNY retired 35-year service member Delano. He then moved out of Hamilton Beach to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania
Within four to six months, however, Roseann said, he was frequently tired and developed a cough, followed by massive nosebleeds, as well as breathing problems such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), nodules, and even glass in his lungs.
“You name it, this poor man suffered through it,” she said.
Weekly visits to the FDNY Medical Office ensued, and he soon began to bruise easily.
A trip to the emergency room confirmed the couple’s worst fears: on April 27, 2005, Delano received a grim diagnosis – acute, “rapid-onset” Leukemia, meaning, said his widow, that it was incurable.
He began treatment, she said, which included five surgeries, chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants (his sister, Patricia, was a match) – and, on the benchmark 100th day, he felt well enough to attend the wedding of his nephew, Patricia’s son.
“He would go into remission,” said Roseann. “We thought we had beat it.”
But when he again began feeling ill, Delano was rushed to the hospital near his home, and then flown by helicopter to Penn State Medical Center, in Hershey, PA.
“He suffered greatly,” said Roseann. “He went from being the rock of the family to us watching him suffer for five years. If this was in God’s plan, I’d rather he [perished] on that day [9-11].”
On Wednesday morning, July 30, 2008, with his family – including his son, Kevin M. Delano, Jr., an FDNY dispatcher – by his bedside, Delano lost his five-year battle with cancer.
“He fought till the end, but he didn’t have any fight left.”
Five days later, nine men picked up Delano’s coffin and carried it out of Our Lady of Grace as “Amazing Grace” was played. A large American flag was placed over the coffin before it was carried to the back of a fire truck. The words “Never Forget” were emblazoned on the windshield of the truck as it carried Delano’s body on a final drive-by of the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department, before proceeding to St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.
On Thursday, July 30 of this year, the WHBVFD received two life-saving suction units in memory of Delano. The pieces of equipment were donated by Marge Centrone, an area lawyer.
Now, as the eighth anniversary of 9/11 is commemorated, Roseann, who is working to ensure that her husband’s memory stays alive, is urging a nation to remember: “There are a lot of sick people out there who need help.”
“I don’t want my husband or anyone else to be forgotten,” she said. “He gave his whole life to Howard Beach – he loved it.”