He searched Ground Zero for his son for six months. 24 years later, 9/11 killed him too

FDNY Battalion Chief James Riches, left, and other firefighters at Ground Zero during recovery efforts following the 9/11 terrorist attack. Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images New York —

On September 11, 2001, as the second tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, then New York City Fire Department Battalion Chief James “Jim” Riches raced to Ground Zero.

His eldest son, Jimmy Jr., a firefighter assigned to Ladder 114 in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, was working with Engine Company 4 that morning when he responded to the call in lower Manhattan.

Jimmy Jr. was last seen carrying an injured woman from the lobby of the North Tower.

Instead of celebrating Jimmy Jr.’s 30th birthday the next day, Riches spent the following six months tirelessly sifting through t