Services set for FDNY firefighter from Islip who died after fall

FDNY members and other first responders are set to gather on Long Island next week with the family of city firefighter William P. Moon II, who died after suffering a serious head injury while preparing for a training drill in Brooklyn.

A wake for Moon, 47, is scheduled to take place from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 28 at Chapey Funeral Home in East Islip.

A funeral Mass will be offered at 11 a.m., Dec. 29, at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Bay Shore.

Officials in New York City said Moon, a married father of two from Islip, was preparing for a drill Dec. 12 at his firehouse, Rescue Company 2 on Sterling Place in Brooklyn, when he fell approximately 20 feet, sustaining the serious head injury.

In a statement released Friday, officials said firefighters at the station immediately began on-scene treatment, then rushed Moon to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County hospital in critical condition.

Moon also served as a volunteer firefighter in Islip and was the former chief of department. His family announced last week that it would donate his organs “to save the lives of others,” officials said.

“If you were having the worst day of your life you would want Billy Moon riding on that fire truck over there,” said FDNY Capt. Liam Flaherty. “If I was trapped in a burning building or a collapse I would want Billy coming for me. I would also say the word 'elite' has been used a lot to describe our company, Billy was very elite, he came to our company and exponentially improved us and we are very grateful for that. We can’t describe the loss he is to us.”

Moon was appointed to the FDNY on May 5, 2002, and began his career at Ladder Company 133 in Jamaica, Queens. He worked there for 20 years before being detailed to Rescue Company 2 this year, the statement said. He served as chief of the Islip Fire Department in 2017.