Salem Retired Deputy Fire Chief To Run NYC Marathon 25 Years After 9/11 Response

SALEM, MA — Retired Deputy Fire Chief and MA Task Force 1 9/11 first responder Dennis Levasseur has been named to the 2026 Team Inspire roster for the TCS New York City Marathon.

Team Inspire is a group of 28 marathon athletes with compelling stories.

Levasseur will take on the Nov. 1 marathon 25 years after responding to the Sept. 11 attacks. He was deployed with Massachusetts Task Force 1 to New York City following the collapse of the World Trade Center and worked alongside members of the FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority Police.

Levasseur is running to honor those lost on 9/11 and fellow first responders. He is running in support of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which supports first responders, military members and their families.

Levasseur served with the Salem Fire Department for 32 years before retiring as deputy fire chief in 2019. The marathon will be his 12th.

He has completed the FDNY World Trade Center Stair Climb in full firefighting gear.

Levasseur carries a card during training runs and workouts with the names of 13 Massachusetts Task Force 1 members who have died since their response to 9/11. He said he keeps their memory with him throughout his preparation for Marathon Sunday.

The selection also follows a return to marathon racing after he said he stepped away from racing in 2023 and believed his marathon days were behind him.

The opportunity to run New York during the 25th anniversary year of 9/11 prompted him to take on 26.2 miles again, he said.

Donations to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation can be made here in honor of Levasseur's marathon participation.