A veteran FDNY firefighter who responded to Ground Zero has died from COVID-19, officials announced Sunday. Joseph Ferrugia, 61, a 30-year department veteran, is the first active FDNY firefighter to die from the illness, authorities said.

“This horrific illness has taken far too many lives, and now it has killed a man who bravely served New Yorkers for three decades,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement. “He ran toward danger his entire career, searching for those trapped by flames and doing all he could to save them. Our entire Department mourns his loss,” the statement continued.