When Paul Pokorski was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008, his wife couldn’t help but wonder if the 34 years he spent working as a firefighter might have led to it.
“I’m a nurse and I kind of knew it was a possibility,” Ann Pokorski said. “But even the oncologists were iffy as to whether it had anything to do with it.”
Paul Pokorski, a former district chief for the fire department, died March 12, 2009, from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He was 54.
On Friday, Pokorski was among eight firefighters and emergency medical service providers honored during a memorial service at the city’s Fire and EMS Training Center. The ceremony is held each year to remember those who have fallen in the line of duty over the years.