A retired Kennewick firefighter who went to Ground Zero to help with recovery in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks has died.
Steve S. Bailie, 68, died Friday in Richland.
“It is with our deepest regret and sorrow to report the following line of duty death,” the Kennewick Firefighters Union said on its Facebook page. The union, which described Bailie as an active member of Local 1296, said he died “after a very courageous and lengthy battle with cancer, which has been directly linked to his long fire career and the time he spent in New York following the events of 09/11/2001.”
A Pasco native, Bailie lived his entire life in the Tri-Cities.
He went to work for the Kennewick Fire Department in 1978 and retired 33 years later.