PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Andrew Ansbro, President of the Uniformed Firefighter Association of Greater New York, on 9/11 Health Impacts and Government Transparency
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ยท
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Andrew Ansbro, President of the Uniformed Firefighter Association of Greater New York, testifies about the health impacts of 9/11 on firefighters and the need for transparency regarding what officials knew about environmental hazards. He shares his personal experience as a 9/11 first responder and emphasizes the importance of uncovering the truth about who knew what and when.
- Ansbro reveals that 1,000 retired NYC firefighters are sick from 9/11 exposure, and 386 have died since the attacks.
- He recounts how Mayor Giuliani was informed about asbestos in the Twin Towers on 9/11 itself.
- Ansbro calls for an investigation into who lied about the safety of the air in the months following 9/11, citing the impact on first responders and their families.
Andrew Ansbro
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Good morning, council chair Brewer.
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Thank you for holding this hearing.
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It is, very important that this information come out.
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My name is Andrew Answorn.
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I'm the president of the Uniformed Firefighter Association of Greater New York.
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I represent 20,000 active and retired New York City firefighters.
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1000 of retired New York City Firefighters are sick from what they're exposed to at ground 0.
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24 years ago I joined the FTNY and I left the academy in the summer of 2001.
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911 was my first fire.
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I was in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in the South Tower collapsed on and I barely survived my life.
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Many of those around me did not survive.
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In December of 2001, I had my first department medical.
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My lung capacity went from, 95, 96% to 72% in 3 months.
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My lung capacity has never recovered.
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I consider myself one of the lucky ones.
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The World Trade Center collapsing cleanup was my only exposure at the time.
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I am not special.
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There are thousands of other stories just like mine.
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Almost everyone that worked there was affected.
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Tens of thousands are sick and thousands have died since then.
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My father, NYPD chief Michael Ansbro also survived the collapse.
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He was at the command post with mayor Giuliani when the south tower came down.
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They and multiple other commissioners in chief sought refuge at 75 Barkley Street in between collapses.
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And my father told Rory Giuliani, I responded to the 93 bombing.
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I know that asbestos was inside the Twin Towers.
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There were also building engineers from local 94 working at 75 Barclay Street.
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They were in that room.
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They agreed about the asbestos and went and got the paper painters' masks and handed them out to everyone that was there.
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That's how Giuliani ended up with his face protection that day.
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Mayor Giuliani was told about the danger before the second tower even came down.
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We all knew something was in the air.
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We just didn't know how bad it was.
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Eventually, the mayor in city hall found out how bad it was and they chose to lie about it.
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We need to know who lied to us, who knowingly chose to be loyal to the lie and not loyal to New York City residents and civil servants.
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They chose to expose more people of toxins, many of whom are now dead because of the lies.
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The question is, will you get to the bottom of this or continue to support the lie?
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On September 11th, we lost 343 New York City firefighters.
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Since then, we have lost 386 more, and we are losing 3 firefighters a month.
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Their families to know who will deserve to know who lied to them.
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The 1,006 firefighters deserve to know who lied.
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The 130,000 people enrolled in the World Trade Center Healthcare Program deserve to know who lied.
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Last, 2 years ago, my father passed away from his 9/11 related cancer.
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My family wants to know who lied in the months that weeks months that followed and said the air was safe.
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If you are in a position to expose the truth, please do so.
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But if not, you're working to continue with a lie, and it becomes your lie.
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I implore you, please get us the truth.
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Do everything we can to get these documents out there.
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All New Yorkers and Americans deserve to know.
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Thank you for your time.