Luis Alvarez, the retired NYPD detective who gave personal testimony earlier in June about funding for Sept. 11 first-responders, has died after a battle with cancer.
The Ray Pfeifer Foundation, a non-profit that helps uninsured first-responders, announced Alvarez’s passing Saturday. He was 53.
“It is with peace and comfort, that the Alvarez family announce that Luis (Lou) Alvarez, our warrior, has gone home to our Good Lord in heaven today,” his family said in a statement.
We lost another 9/11 first responder. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of NYPD Detective Luis Alvarez. pic.twitter.com/rnbhYuFNGJ
— RayPfeiferFoundation (@RayPfeiferFDTN) June 29, 2019
Alvarez, a former U.S. Marine, testified alongside comedian Jon Stewart on June 11 to call on Congress to reauthorize funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which covers medical costs related to the 9/11 attacks. Numerous first-responders who sifted through the fallen World Trade Center towers have developed cancer and other diseases. (RELATED: Terminally Ill 9/11 First Responder Offers One Final Message)
Alvarez, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2016, rushed to the towers after the attacks and worked for weeks to remove debris from the site in lower Manhattan. He underwent 68 chemotherapy treatments.
“You all said you would never forget. Well, I’m here to make sure that you don’t,” Alvarez said at the congressional hearing earlier this month.
WATCH:
Alvarez spoke to Fox News’ Shepard Smith on June 20.
“I have no regrets. No regrets whatsoever. 9/11 happened. We got called down. It’s my job as an NYPD detective to respond to emergencies,” said Alvarez, who retired from the NYPD’s bomb unit in 2010.
“I did work with everybody. I’m nobody special. I did what all the other guys did. Now we’re paying the price for it.”
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