diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/download.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/download.rs
index 167e18a8299e..6fff6e78e2e9 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/download.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/download.rs
@@ -14,14 +14,14 @@ use tokio::io::{AsyncSeekExt, AsyncWriteExt};
 use tokio_util::io::StreamReader;
 use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
 use tracing::warn;
-use utils::{backoff, crashsafe};
+use utils::backoff;
 
 use crate::config::PageServerConf;
 use crate::span::debug_assert_current_span_has_tenant_and_timeline_id;
 use crate::tenant::remote_timeline_client::{remote_layer_path, remote_timelines_path};
 use crate::tenant::storage_layer::LayerFileName;
 use crate::tenant::Generation;
-use crate::virtual_file::on_fatal_io_error;
+use crate::virtual_file::{on_fatal_io_error, MaybeFatalIo, VirtualFile};
 use crate::TEMP_FILE_SUFFIX;
 use remote_storage::{DownloadError, GenericRemoteStorage, ListingMode};
 use utils::crashsafe::path_with_suffix_extension;
@@ -50,9 +50,8 @@ pub async fn download_layer_file<'a>(
 ) -> Result<u64, DownloadError> {
     debug_assert_current_span_has_tenant_and_timeline_id();
 
-    let local_path = conf
-        .timeline_path(&tenant_shard_id, &timeline_id)
-        .join(layer_file_name.file_name());
+    let timeline_path = conf.timeline_path(&tenant_shard_id, &timeline_id);
+    let local_path = timeline_path.join(layer_file_name.file_name());
 
     let remote_path = remote_layer_path(
         &tenant_shard_id.tenant_id,
@@ -149,10 +148,21 @@ pub async fn download_layer_file<'a>(
         .with_context(|| format!("rename download layer file to {local_path}"))
         .map_err(DownloadError::Other)?;
 
-    crashsafe::fsync_async(&local_path)
-        .await
-        .with_context(|| format!("fsync layer file {local_path}"))
-        .map_err(DownloadError::Other)?;
+    // We use fatal_err() below because the after the rename above,
+    // the in-memory state of the filesystem already has the layer file in its final place,
+    // and subsequent pageserver code could think it's durable while it really isn't.
+    let work = async move {
+        let timeline_dir = VirtualFile::open(&timeline_path)
+            .await
+            .fatal_err("VirtualFile::open for timeline dir fsync");
+        timeline_dir
+            .sync_all()
+            .await
+            .fatal_err("VirtualFile::sync_all timeline dir");
+    };
+    crate::virtual_file::io_engine::get()
+        .spawn_blocking_and_block_on_if_std(work)
+        .await;
 
     tracing::debug!("download complete: {local_path}");
 
diff --git a/pageserver/src/virtual_file/io_engine.rs b/pageserver/src/virtual_file/io_engine.rs
index 1a8cd9f56238..5fef82647737 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/virtual_file/io_engine.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/virtual_file/io_engine.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 //! Then use [`get`] and  [`super::OpenOptions`].
 
 use tokio_epoll_uring::{IoBuf, Slice};
+use tracing::Instrument;
 
 pub(crate) use super::api::IoEngineKind;
 #[derive(Clone, Copy)]
@@ -225,4 +226,29 @@ impl IoEngine {
             }
         }
     }
+
+    /// If we switch a user of [`tokio::fs`] to use [`super::io_engine`],
+    /// they'd start blocking the executor thread if [`IoEngine::StdFs`] is configured
+    /// whereas before the switch to [`super::io_engine`], that wasn't the case.
+    /// This method helps avoid such a regression.
+    ///
+    /// Panics if the `spawn_blocking` fails, see [`tokio::task::JoinError`] for reasons why that can happen.
+    pub(crate) async fn spawn_blocking_and_block_on_if_std<Fut, R>(&self, work: Fut) -> R
+    where
+        Fut: 'static + Send + std::future::Future<Output = R>,
+        R: 'static + Send,
+    {
+        match self {
+            IoEngine::NotSet => panic!("not initialized"),
+            IoEngine::StdFs => {
+                let span = tracing::info_span!("spawn_blocking_block_on_if_std");
+                tokio::task::spawn_blocking({
+                    move || tokio::runtime::Handle::current().block_on(work.instrument(span))
+                })
+                .await
+                .expect("failed to join blocking code most likely it panicked, panicking as well")
+            }
+            IoEngine::TokioEpollUring => work.await,
+        }
+    }
 }