His widow vowed not to to let “my husband or anyone else be forgotten,” and on Tuesday, September 28, a plaque was dedicated “to the memory of firefighter Kevin M. Delano Sr.” for his years of service to Ladder 142 and his selflessness on 9/11.
“He gave his whole life to Howard Beach – he loved it,” said his wife, Roseann.
Delano, who served as Chief of the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department (WHBVFD) for 12 years, died on July 30, 2008 from Leukemia, which friends and family members believe resulted from his exposure to the wreckage of the World Trade Center on 9/11, where he helped in rescue efforts for more than 40 consecutive hours, according to Mitchell Udowitch, Delano’s friend and an ex-captain of the WHBVFD.
“It was only 54 years, but they were the best I could have asked for,” Delano’s son, Kevin Jr., said. “I can’t put into words what my father meant to me.”
While Delano served as a volunteer, he was employed as a member of the United States Coast Guard. After serving for four years, he became a federal firefighter stationed on Governor’s Island, where he remained for 11 years, when he received the call to become a New York City Transit police officer, assigned to patrol the subways in Brooklyn.
Less than two years later, Delano joined the Fire Department with Ladder 146 in Brooklyn and was soon transferred to Ladder 142 in Ozone Park, so he could be closer to home and his family.
“He worried about friends and family first, then himself,” said Kevin Jr., who recalled his father as selfless.
After the 9/11 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.
On April 27, 2005, Delano received a grim diagnosis – acute, “rapid-onset” Leukemia, meaning, said his widow, that it was incurable.
He battled the disease into remission until doctors told him he needed a bone marrow transplant. His sister, Patti Fogarty of Howard Beach, was a perfect match.
Without hesitation she donated stem cells to her brother, which his body accepted.
But on Wednesday morning, July 30, 2008, with his family by his bedside, Delano lost his battle with cancer.
A year later, the WHBVFD received two life-saving suction units in memory of Delano. The pieces of equipment were donated by Marge Centrone, an area lawyer.
