National Press Club

First Responders Urge Congress to Reopen 9/11 Investigation

September 11, 2019, 10:00 AM

Location: 4th Estate Room

Fighting Illness and Seeking Justice for the Fallen, First Responders Urge Congress to Reopen 9/11 Investigation

Washington, D.C. – On the 18th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, 9/11 first responders Christopher Gioia and Joseph Torregrossa, both commissioners of the Franklin Square and Munson Fire District in New York, will announce the launch of the “Justice for 9/11 Heroes” campaign at a news conference to be held at the National Press Club at 10 AM EDT.

In July, Gioia, Torregrossa, and the three other commissioners of their fire district unanimously approved a resolution calling for a new investigation into the September 11th attacks. Mr. Torregrossa and one of the other commissioners are suffering chronic heath effects from working at Ground Zero, and one of the department’s members, Thomas J. Hetzel, who was also a member of the FDNY, was killed in the line of duty that day.

The Franklin Square and Munson Fire District is currently spearheading efforts throughout New York State and the country to unite the fire service behind their call for Congress to reopen the investigation into the September 11th attacks.
The congressional inquiry they are seeking would be conducted in parallel with the ongoing grand jury investigation in the Southern District of New York, which the group also strongly supports.

At the news conference, Gioia and Torregrossa will be joined by Bob and Helen McIlvaine, whose son Bobby was killed at the World Trade Center. For the past two years, Mr. McIlvaine has spearheaded a campaign, in his son’s name, to introduce and enact draft legislation that would establish a select committee in Congress to reinvestigate the World Trade Center’s destruction.

Also speaking at the news conference will be David Meiswinkle, who is president of the Lawyers’ Committee for 9/11 Inquiry, and architect Richard Gage, who is founder and CEO of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth (AE911Truth). Mr. Meiswinkle will discuss his organization’s current litigation. Mr. Gage will discuss the recent release of a four-year computer modeling study of World Trade Center Building 7’s collapse by researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The study’s findings refute a 2008 report on Building 7 issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which claimed that normal office fires were responsible for the 47-story skyscraper’s free-fall collapse into its footprint at 5:20 PM on 9/11.

Who: Fire Commissioners Christopher Gioia and Joseph Torregrossa; 9/11 family members Bob and Helen McIlvaine; Lawyers’ Committee for 9/11 Inquiry President David Meiswinkle; AE911Truth Founder and CEO Richard Gage, AIA

What: Announcement of the Justice for 9/11 Heroes campaign

When: 10 AM EDT, September 11, 2019

Where: National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C.