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Children of firefighters killed during 9/11 attacks will soon graduate from FDNY academy

As people across the United States remember the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on its 18th anniversary, the children of firefighters who died that day are following in their fathers' footsteps.

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The current graduating class of the New York City Fire Department will include 15 men and one woman whose fathers died as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center, WPIX reported. Fourteen of the soon-to-be graduates lost a family member on the day of the 9/11 attacks, an FDNY spokesman confirmed to the television station. Two others lost their fathers as a result of Sept. 11-related illnesses.

The graduation ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 24.

Heloiza Asaro is "very proud" that her son, Marc, 25, and daughter, Rebecca, 27, are joining siblings Matthew Asaro, 30, and Carl, 31, in the FDNY, NBC News reported. Her husband, Carl Asaro, was 39 when he died. He was a father of six children and a 14-year veteran of the FDNY.

"My husband died in the line of duty, but his death is (remembered) with my kids," Heloiza Asaro told the network.

Other children of fallen 9/11 first responders have followed in their fathers' footsteps through the years. The daughter of New York City police Officer Ramon Suarez joined the force in 2018, WPIX reported.