NY1 VIDEO: First responder Keith Roma worked alongside the FDNY and died helping others escape from the World Trade Center. He was a member of the Fire Patrol, likened to a private fire department funded by insurance companies to safeguard property.

Keith Roma's father Arnie, a resident of Richmondtown, Staten Island, originally wanted to give his son the same recognition as the 343 members of the FDNY who lost their lives, but that never happened.

So instead, in later years, Roma has picked a fight he thinks he can win. The Fire Patrol was closed in 2006 amid questions about its usefulness and accusations of mismanagement, and now Roma wants to reopen it as a not-for-profit in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

A bill to reopen the Fire Patrol and to give it emergency responder status, which has sponsored by State Senator Andrew Lanza, currently has support in the State Senate but still needs approval in the Assembly.