BUFFALO, N.Y. — The death of a local volunteer firefighter has officially been declared a 9/11, cancer-related Line of Duty Death.
Ellicott Creek Volunteer Fire Company on Thursday provided an update on Ron Smeller, who died of cancer on March 10, 2020. Smeller was part of a statewide mutual aid request in the weeks following 9/11 and spent time in Lower Manhattan during rescue and recovery efforts.
“With the help of the 100 Club of Buffalo, we pulled the information together to prove that Ron was indeed part of the mutual aid as well as provided any documentation necessary to the Department of Justice in relation to his cancer,” the fire company said in a statement Thursday…