WAKEFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - A New York state trooper who died from cancer believed to be caused by his work during the response to 9/11 was laid to rest on Wednesday.
A massive procession carried Trooper Ryan Fortini’s casket from St. Margaret’s Church in Burlington to his final resting spot at Lakeside Cemetery in Wakefield.
Fortini, who graduated from Burlington High School in 1995, was forced to retire after 16 years of service with the New York State Police due to his illness, according to the Burlington Police Department. He passed away last week at the age of 42.
He worked endless hours at Ground Zero as state troopers rotated shifts during a search and rescue mission following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Fortini joined the Army National Guard’s military police after high school before earning a degree in criminal justice from UMass Lowell. He went on to join the New York State Police in 1999.
Hundreds of officers and troopers attended Fortini’s memorial services, including Trooper Keith Corlett, of the New York State Police.
“Unfortunately, we are still battling the events of that day. We were told that the air was safe and it was not,” Corlett told reporters. “Ten years later, we were told that this would accelerate and we would start to lose more and more members. That prediction came true. More and more of us are getting sick and we’re going to lose a lot more people.”
Fortini leaves behind his parents and fiancee, among many other family members.
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