Remains of fallen FDNY firefighter William Moon transferred to LI in ceremony
The remains of an FDNY firefighter from Long Island who died last week after suffering a head injury while preparing for a training drill in Brooklyn were transferred Wednesday to an East Islip funeral home.
FDNY firefighters stood at attention during the dignified transfer ceremony as the body of William P. Moon II was taken by ambulance from the Medical Examiner's Office in lower Manhattan. Moon's wife and two children sobbed during the somber ceremony as an NYPD helicopter flew overhead.
The remains arrived Wednesday afternoon at Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in East Islip, preceded by Suffolk police motorcycles and NYPD police vehicles. Members of the FDNY lined up in the cold, alongside Long Island firefighters, including members of the Islip Fire Department, where Moon volunteered and was chief in 2017.
Firefighters from the Islip Fire Department embrace after Moon's body arrived at Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in East Islip. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
One firefighter placed a sticker reading "In Memory of Billy Moon" on an Islip Fire Department truck.
Moon, 47, was preparing for a drill on Dec. 12 at his firehouse, Rescue Company 2 on Sterling Place in Brooklyn, when he fell approximately 20 feet, sustaining the serious head injury. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition but officials said it became clear Moon would not survive.
His family donated his heart, lungs, liver and kidneys, saving the lives of five patients, including three people in New York, according to LiveOnNY, a nonprofit that works to facilitate organ donations.
Moon joined the FDNY in 2002, beginning his career at Ladder Company 133 in Jamaica, Queens. He worked there for 20 years before being detailed to Rescue Company 2 earlier this year.
A wake for Moon is scheduled for Dec. 28 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the East Islip funeral home. A funeral Mass will be offered Dec. 29 at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Bay Shore.
With Steve Pfost and Brittainy Newman
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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