Mourners pay respects to William Moon of Islip, a 'spectacular fireman' for the FDNY

Hundreds of firefighters and other mourners filed in and out of an East Islip funeral home Wednesday to remember William Moon, a "spectacular fireman" for the FDNY from Islip who suffered a fatal injury while preparing for a training exercise earlier this month.

Islip firetrucks lined Main Street with an American flag hoisted between the two raised ladders. Firetrucks had decals on their windshields that read “In Memory of Billy Moon” and black and purple ribbons were tied around light poles lining the street.

Moon’s family, including his wife Kristina and two children, Brianne and Colin, arrived in FDNY transport vans and were escorted into the Chapey & Sons Funeral Home by fire officials, while colleagues and friends gathered outside, some embracing and sobbing at the sudden loss.

FDNY Fire Capt. Pat Connolly, Moon’s captain at Ladder Company 133 in South Jamaica, said Moon was devoted to his family and committed to getting to know the community he served. Connolly recalled when he took over the South Jamaica station, Moon took him into the neighborhood to teach him about the buildings for hours until a little girl started knocking on the window to wave.

“Billy looked at me and he said, ‘Captain, that's why we come out and practice for two hours in the rain,” Connolly said. “And I knew right then and there that I love this guy. Because that's, that's what it's all about.”

He said Moon was devoted to helping his own community in Islip as well as the neighborhoods he served in Queens. Moon requested to transfer to the elite rescue squad in January, where Connolly said he left his mark on three different fire companies.

“I was certainly lucky to be his captain and just be fortunate to be a part of the ride that was Billy Moon,” Connolly said. “He was probably one of the most incredible firemen that I've ever met … That made my job much easier. I always knew that he was going to make his position. And I always knew that no matter what, he would give it his all to get anybody else inside that building.”

Connolly said the loss has left the department hurting as they mourned Moon who the ladder company came to depend on.

“The company is bruised and battered, is probably the best way to put it,” he said. “These guys molded him into this fireman that we all know to be just a spectacular fireman. And they're hurt. They are certainly hurt, their wives are hurt, their families hurt and our community is hurt.”

The wake was set to run in two sessions, with the second running from 7 to 9 p.m. New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh were scheduled to visit Wednesday night.

A funeral Mass is planned for 11 a.m. Thursday in Bay Shore at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church.

Moon suffered a fatal head injury while preparing for a high-story rescue training exercise at his firehouse on Sterling Place in Brooklyn.

He was a 20-year veteran of the FDNY Rescue Company 2 in Brooklyn and a volunteer and former chief of the Islip Fire Department. 

Ray Fifield said he met Moon while serving as a volunteer firefighter in Bay Shore and they came to be friends.

“I didn't believe it at first. The first thing you think is, not Billy. He's careful, he loved the city and loved Islip. This is what he loved to do and born to do,” Fifield said.

It is the second loss for the Islip Fire Department this year, following the death of FDNY firefighter Jesse Gerhard. Gerhard, 33, died Feb. 16 when he collapsed from a medical emergency at his Queens firehouse after returning from a fire. He was stationed at Ladder 134 in Far Rockaway.