Ground Zero FDNY hero Jim Riches remembered as ‘inspiration’ at funeral from 9/11-related illness

A Ground Zero FDNY hero who died from a 9/11 illness was memorialized as an “inspiration” to his colleagues at his emotional funeral in Brooklyn on Monday.

Former Deputy Chief James “Jim” Riches Sr., who died on Thanksgiving at 74, set an example for his colleagues as he sifted through the wreckage to find his firefighter son’s remains after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, grieving colleagues said at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Bay Ridge.

Hundreds of mourners saluted Riches’ casket at the church – a scene reminiscent of when the Riches family buried their son, Jimmy Jr., about 24 years ago.

Riches, the 30-year FDNY veteran, ultimately spent months at Ground Zero as he and others never wavered on recovery efforts, grieving colleagues said.

“I can remember vividly the same kind of service, and now here we are, 24 years later, for Jimmy Sr. A lot of this is attributed to him being there every day looking for his son with a bunch of other firefighters that were looking for their sons,” said former FDNY commissioner Sal Cassano.

“I can remember the inspiration that those people gave us, knowing that if they were looking for their sons – some of them were retired – we could look harder than we’d ever worked before.”

Cassano, who was commissioner between 2010 and 2014 said Riches was steadfast in finding his eldest boy’s remains, which he eventually did on March 5, 2002.

“He kept us going. We knew that he was on a mission, and we were on the same mission to bring everybody home,” said Cassano, who knew Riches for about 50 years. “And unfortunately, Jimmy paid a dear price for it.” 

Another three of Riches’ sons have served in the fire department, including two who are retired and one still active.

Riches, a Brooklyn resident, served in the FDNY between 1977 and 2007, and was an advocate for Big Apple first responders dealing with post-9/11 issues well into his retirement.

“September 11th didn’t stop on September 11th. We’re doing this almost every day,” Cassano said.

“Jimmy was one of our advocates. Jimmy went to Washington many times for us, he fought for benefits for the families of the people that were killed and for us that are still living.”

The former fire commissioner noted the number of active and former FDNY members who lined the street for Riches was as if he just was working the other day, including some members who did not know him personally, but knew what he stood for.

At one point, the department handed his wife, Rita, his fire helmet in a solemn moment.

“Jimmy Riches was the big daddy – larger than life, great guy, great athlete, great fireman. Everybody was with Jimmy,” said retired firefighter Michael Manza, 70, who worked with Riches in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“He was dedicated to finding his son and it was horrible. A large part of him died that day. He had a second strength, a third strength – whatever it was, he got up, up and said, ‘OK, we’re going on now.’”

“Jimmy was a great firefighter and a great friend,” retired firefighter Joe Maganza, 79, added. 

“This is a family, and this family’s taken a major hit.”