Robert Cordice

'He Craved the Action'
When Firefighter Robert Cordice disappeared on Sept. 11, so did the dreams of dozens of bachelorettes.

Firefighter Cordice, 28, was a handsome, hulking man, a lover of good drink, beautiful women and fast motorcycles. He was to be a pinup boy, making the cut for the 2002 Fire Department Hunks calendar.

"The picture is of him downtown on the Wall Street bull with his shirt off, wearing his bunker pants and suspenders and boots," said his longtime friend John Deliso.

Like so many other firefighters, he wanted to be in the thick of the smoke. He was stationed at Engine Company 152 in Staten Island, and decided that he wanted to work somewhere more busy and daring. He transferred to the elite Squad 1 unit in Brooklyn. He had been there only two weeks.

He was also a New York City police officer for three years before joining the Fire Department, stationed at the 13th Precinct in Manhattan.

"No matter what he was doing, he craved the action," Mr. Deliso said.

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 17, 2001.


ROBERT CORDICE, 28, of New York, was a firefighter who transferred to another firehouse two weeks before the attacks at the World Trade Center because he wanted to be closer to the action. "It's no surprise that he was in the building when it collapsed," said his friend, firefighter John Deliso. "He was the type of guy who wasn't worried about himself." Cordice was a policeman before joining the Fire Department. Deliso said Cordice was the kind of friend who "would do anything for you." His friends repaid the loyalty. "All his friends loved him very much," said his mother, Caroline Calicchio Cordice. "He was a very funny, very positive, very honest and loving son."