FDNY EMT Struggles to Save Own Life

April 13, 2006 -- He went to rescue people at Ground Zero - but Fire Department paramedic William Dahl ended up being one of those truly needing help.

Dahl, 42, who is married with two daughters, ages 10 and 9, was off duty on Sept. 11, 2001, when his partner called and told him to turn on the TV to watch news of the terror attack.

He headed to his base at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens - and from there made his way to the ruins of the Twin Towers.

"It was devastating. We got there right after the collapse," he said yesterday. "We got to see firsthand how bad and disorganized everybody was."

Just two months later, he began showing symptoms of his exposure to hazardous Ground Zero dust.

"I started getting the World Trade Center cough," he said. "I didn't think it was a big deal - everybody had it."

Early in 2003, doctors found cancerous tumors called synovial sarcoma in his throat. "It's a very rare form of cancer to get in that area of the body," Dahl said.

Doctors removed the tumors, but last year, after he had a major attack at the city's EMT academy in Fort Totten, Queens, an FDNY doctor ruled he was disabled.

Dahl's life revolves around medications and doctor's appointments.

"I don't live my life for me anymore, he said. "I live my life around my disease - and now my family does, too."