World Trade Center Litigation BLOG

When Heroes Get Sick - Part 2, Lee Ielpi

Lee Ielpi joined the New York City Fire Department in 1970 and retired in 1996 after a 26-year career that’s decorated with over 24 different prestigious awards and ribbons of honor. As a native of Great Neck, New York, Lee is a father of four children, two of them who grew up to follow in their father’s footsteps of becoming New York City Firefighters.

Lee remembers September 11, 2001 very clearly. He arrived at the WTC about a half hour after the second tower collapsed and began rescue operations at the South West Corner on West Street. Lee worked in assisting the organization of operations until about midnight of that first evening. Every day, Lee returned to Ground Zero and worked 10 to 14 hours helping with the rescue operations.

His main concern and priority was finding his son, Jonathan, who he knew was on duty that morning and was still trapped inside the South Tower. Lee’s son was part of Squad 288 in Queens and his team went out to answer the alarm immediately after the attack. Jonathan went into the South Tower to rescue those inside but did not make it out in time. It would be three months before Lee would find his son and help carry his body out of the rubble of the twin towers.

Lee remained at the site for nine months assisting with recovery efforts. During this time, the process of recovery continued 24/7 in which time a total of almost 20,000 human body parts were found. Lee describes the task as overwhelming as they sifted through dust and debris searching for remains of loved ones.

Lee formerly served as vice president of the September 11th Families' Association. He enjoyed working on the Tribute Center that he help found. However, it was recently discovered that he has cancer possibly linked to the WTC toxins. When Lee began suffering from shortness of breath and swelling in his ankle he went in for a FDNY screening. He was diagnosed with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, a rare type of non- Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is incurable but can be treated. Lee undergoes chemotherapy treatments, but tries to continue his work at the Tribute Center.

Dr. Jonathan Kolitz, Lee’s oncologist has discussed the possible link of Lee’s cancer to the contaminated WTC site that he worked at for nine months. Kolitz also expressed a positive attitude saying that Lee was handling treatment exceptionally well. Recently, Lee discovered that 70 other WTC rescue workers have also been diagnosed with blood cancers.

Even though he has cancer, Lee does not regret the time he spent searching for remains at Ground Zero. "My first mission was my son," he said. "And I stayed at the site because of everyone else’s son."