Many of those who risked their lives to save others in New York, compromised their own health. The US government is providing some medical compensation, but not for some of the most serious diseases, such as cancer. From New York, SBS Senior Correspondent Brian Thomson reports.
It was a day of disturbing images but nothing could have prepared anyone for what was about to come next.
When the Twin Towers collapsed, lower Manhattan was shrouded in a cloud of toxic dust
Most of those who responded were ill equipped. Some had masks, but others did not, and ten years on that oversight has come back to haunt the first responders.
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Jeff Strohlein was a fire-fighter at the time. He was one of those who sifted through the debris looking for survivors. He was forced to retire from the fire service earlier this year after being diagnosed with cancer.
"It was huge. We were in over our heads. I had my head cut open and basically they saw a big glob of cancer. They say it was the size of a baseball," he told SBS.
Jeff has undergone seven bouts of chemotherapy and is currently recovering from a bone marrow transplant. The cost of that operation alone was $220,000.
For now his private health insurance is meeting the costs, but he and his wife worry about how long that will continue.
Since the attacks 345 'first responders' have died from a variety of ailments. The cancer rate amongst the group has gone up from 3 per cent to 19 per cent, but still cancer is not recognised as a 9/11 related illness.
"The facts are proven", Jeff says. "To say that... there weren't toxic stuff to cause cancer in the air down at ground zero you have to be a moron. I don't know how you can be a doctor and say that."
John Feal was a construction worker at ground zero. He lost half of one of his feet when a steel beam collapsed on him.
Disgusted with the way the first responders were treated, he set up a foundation to help those who the government would not.
"I'm the most patriotic person I know. My office dictates that. I wear red white and blue or camouflage. I'm a United States army veteran, I was in the 101st airborne," Mr Feil said. "I got a Captain America shield on my wall and I was wondering how can our government let us down like this. Why. Why?"
Former NY policeman Glen Klein spent 800 hours at ground zero. He too has been forced to retire through ill health.
Like many other first responders he has lost count of the amount of funerals he has been to, with many of his colleagues succumbing to cancer.
"There's hundreds of guys who have lost their lives to cancer and the common thread between everybody is that they worked at ground zero or the Staten Island landfill", Mr Klein said.
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work that out and they're telling us that there's no correlation between working at Ground Zero and the cancer rate. It's a crock of baloney!"
New York Attorney Sheila Birnbaum is the government appointed administrator of the fund set up late last year to help those first responders who have become ill. She sympathises with those suffering from cancer but says her hands are tied.
"It's a hard job, we want to be as generous as possible, as easy as possible but within the parameters of what congress has provided," Ms Birnbaum said.
It's an argument that doesn't cut ice with those who risked their lives on that fateful day.
"We have these ailments because of our heroism", former policeman Jim Ryder says. "We have these ailments because we didn't pause. We went down there and did our job and now our government should be realising that, admitting that and recognising us."
Sheila Birnbaum says the decision to exclude cancer will be reviewed in the middle of next year.
But for people like Jeff, whose youngest daughter's only wish is that her dad takes her to Disneyland, that may be too late.
"She turned to me and said 'Dad, what's going to happen if you die from cancer, who's going to take me to Disneyland?' ... and I was just crushed you know. I turned and said 'Daddy's taking you to Disney, that's what's going to happen'".
The power of positive thought.
You can also watch this video here.
