Jerry Sanford retired to Naples, Florida, after a 29-year career as a New York City firefighter, but the city managed to call him back to help his brothers right before one of the most critical times in the history of the United States: 9/11. Although Sanford later developed cancer potentially associated with the fumes and toxins surrounding Ground Zero, he felt it was important to recount his experiences from the weeks leading up to and following 9/11 in his book, “It Started With a Helmet: A Retired Firefighter’s Return to New York City the Day Before 9/11.”
Within the pages of the book, which was published soon before the 20th anniversary of the attacks, readers will also find stories about Sanford’s time as a New York City police officer before starting with the city’s fire department, as well as his own diagnosis of adenocarcinoma, a type of lung cancer found in the glandular cells in the organ’s tissues, which likely developed from his exposure to the toxic air.