MO-TF1 member dies from cancer related to 9/11 response
Additional author: Jacob Richey, KOMU 8
A Missouri Task Force 1 member who responded to the 9/11 attacks in New York has died from cancer, the Boone County Fire Protection District announced Thursday.
Heavy rigging specialist Larry Duncan was one of the responders who scoured rubble the day after the attacks on the World Trade Center looking for survivors. He operated heavy machinery that helped secure debris at ground zero, according to a 2023 feature story on Duncan.
The toxic materials first responders encountered have killed over twice as many people than the attacks themselves — through diseases including cancer.
Duncan's cancer was related to his response to the attacks and is considered a death in the line of duty, Boone County Fire said.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Markland-Yeager Funeral Home in New Franklin and will be announced when they are complete, according to the fire protection district.
Sixty-two members of Missouri Task Force 1 were deployed to New York City in response to the 9/11 attacks and spent 10 days searching for survivors among the rubble, according to the fire protection district.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe ordered United States and Missouri flags to be flown at half-staff at all government buildings in Howard County, Missouri, at the Fire Fighters Memorial of Missouri located in Kingdom City, and at firehouses across the state on Sunday, Jan. 26 from sunrise to sunset in honor of Howard County Firefighter Larry Roland Duncan.
"Larry Roland Duncan dedicated 23 years of his life to the fire service and answering the call no matter the emergency, including responding to Ground Zero as a member of Missouri Task Force 1,” Governor Mike Kehoe said. “At the New York City site where the Twin Towers once stood, Firefighter Duncan and his Task Force 1 colleagues spent days exposed to toxic contaminants as they scoured the rubble looking for survivors of the terrorist attack. We honor his relentless commitment to serving others, regardless of the risk to himself.”
According to the Governor's Office, Duncan was a Heavy Rigging Specialist with Task Force 1 from 1998 to 2003.
As of 1984, Duncan served as a member of the Cooper County Fire Protection District, a member of the Boone County Fire Protection District and a member of the Howard County Fire Protection District, all of which were in Missouri.
Duncan died on Jan. 15, 2025 after battling cancer related to the September 11 attacks in New York.
The news of Duncan's passing came from Boone County Fire Protection District on Jan. 16 through a post on social media which read "It is with great sadness that Missouri Task Force 1 announces the line of duty death of Heavy Rigging Specialist Larry Duncan."
The post continued, "On September 11, 2001, the FEMA National Operations Center issued activation orders for Missouri Task Force 1 to deploy to New York City in response to the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center towers. Sixty-two brave men and women of Missouri Task Force 1 left their homes, their work, their friends and their families to deploy to “Ground Zero."
"Missouri Task Force 1 spent 10 days scouring the rubble that was once the World Trade Center complex for survivors. Larry Duncan was a member of that team. He was one of the many courageous responders who worked “the pile” day after day. The hazards were great and the loss of life from that day is still occurring due to the toxic materials responders encountered. Tragically, as a result of these exposures, Larry succumbed to a 9/11-related cancer on January 15, 2025," Boone County continued in their post. "Funeral arrangements are pending at Markland-Yeager Funeral Home in New Franklin, Missouri and will be announced on their completion."
The Governor's Office stated that flags will be flown at half-staff on the day Duncan is laid to rest.
