Family, firefighters remember William Quick

Firefighters in dress uniforms filled a block and family and friends crowded the pews of St. Ignatius Martyr Church in Long Beach Saturday to say a final goodbye to William Quick, a retired New York City firefighter who died of lung disease his family said he developed after working at Ground Zero.

Quick, 55, of East Atlantic Beach, who died Tuesday, labored on the Ground Zero debris heap. He retired in 2003 because a nagging cough never got better. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002.

Illness forced Quick to end his career with the FDNY, something his son, William Quick II, called "his obsession." His last post with the fire department was with Ladder 134 in Far Rockaway.

A professional firefighter who also volunteered with the Long Beach Fire Department, Quick was recalled as a man with a sharp wit and big heart, and was a key member of whatever community he belonged to.

William Quick II, 17, said during the funeral Mass that his father was adopted and had very little growing up in a housing project in Brooklyn. But he collected life lessons, which he regularly dispensed to William and his twin sister, Ryan Mary. Quick had also always wanted to be a firefighter, his son said.

On Sept. 11, 2001, William Quick II said, his father dropped his children off at school and rushed to Ground Zero. He was there for three days straight, the son said.

"What he did have, he counted on - family and friends," William Quick II said. "I realize how fortunate I was to have him as my father."

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Ken Rogers served with Quick in the FDNY for 13 years. He remembered his close friend as a character who could be thickheaded, but always lovable, like the time he went to Oregon to hike Mount Hood. He walked into a fire house in Portland and introduced himself with, "Bill Quick hereyah, firefightah, light beer drinkah."

Exercise walks with Quick always ended up the same way - at Zamboni's deli in Long Beach, Rogers said.

As a volunteer with the Long Beach Fire Department, "he never asked for anything in return," Rogers said. "He will live with me forever."

Rogers said his friend is now "10-8, citywide," using the FDNY radio code for "available on the air."

In addition to his daughter and son, Quick is also survived by his wife, Lisa.

Deacon Thomas J. Evrard said during the Mass that when the flames are out, firefighters reflect on how a fire could have been better fought, and what lessons could be learned.

"I suspect God had said something to Bill as he entered the portals of eternal life," Evrard said. "I suspect the Lord may have said: 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' "