Fallen hero Ivan Morales honored by Catskill Fire Department

CATSKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A local fire department honoring a fallen hero on the eve of America’s worst terror attack. The Catskill Fire Department coming together to posthumously honor New York State Trooper, Sergeant Ivan Morales, by voting to make him an honorary lifetime member of the department.

“He is a hometown hero for Catskill. You ask anything of him, he'll do it,” said Fire Chief, John Holt, when remembering Morales.

In a unanimous vote the department made Morales a firefighter.  He will be forever remembered for his heroism at ground zero following the 9/11 terror attacks. “Not so long ago we helped escort his body home to Catskill, October 2022. Many of us in this room knew him or members of his family. The sergeant fought against brain cancer brought on by working down in lower Manhattan immediately following the disgusting terrorist attacks on 9/11,” said Catskill Assistant Fire Chief, Ed Dolan.

Ivan worked as a cadet with the New York City Police Department during the cleanup and rescue efforts. “Ivan was actually assigned to the Madison Square Garden. They brought truckloads of rubble, and he was assigned to sort body parts from that rubble and put on ice,” said Morales’ wife, Kristi Morales.

Morales passed away at the age of 42 from brain cancer he developed during his time at ground zero. “He had a UTV accident for the State Police he was a passenger in the UTV, and it rolled over. He hit his head on the steering wheel and that was in October of 2019. He had a seizure in February and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and they told me he had brain swelling. He was there for five days under a medically induced coma, and that's when they gave me a follow-up appointment to take him to see a neuro-oncologist. So, then, we kind of put two and two together,” said Kristi.

He was a dedicated NY State Trooper for 17 years, retiring as a sergeant from Troop T. “At his funeral, the superintendent noted him to be a “troopervisor” because he related better to troopers as a supervisor than most sergeants did,” said Kristi.

His two children, Demetrio and Civana say their dad will never be forgotten. They tell NEWS 10 Reporter, James De La Fuente they loved their father and watching the New York Yankees, together. His son says he will, “Just keep watching them because we used to watch them every night together. So, that's how I remember him.” His daughter thankful her father’s memory lives on. “I'm thankful for the community that takes their time to remember him doing all this,” said Civana.

Kristi says she loved every bit of her husband. “I always tell people I was married to three different Ivans. I had College Ivan, and then I had work Ivan, and I had sick Ivan. And all three were very different. I loved all three, obviously. But they were very different,” finished Morales.

The terror attacks of 9-11 killed nearly 3000 American lives and the number continues to climb as illness and disease related to the clean-up efforts after the attack continue to claim more lives.