Quiet filled the area outside Brooklyn’s Rescue Company 2 on Sunday morning as firefighters placed black-and-purple bunting on the headquarters of Firefighter William Moon, who suffered a fatal fall last week.
Only the dull hum of the cherry picker that two members of Ladder Company 120 used to hang the mourning cloths could be heard as firefighters and Moon’s family looked on in silent grief.
Moon was critically injured on Dec. 12 after taking a fall while preparing for a company drill at Rescue 2 in Brownsville. On Friday, the FDNY announced that Moon would not recover, but that his organs would be donated to give life to strangers in need.
The bunting ceremony, an FDNY tradition whenever New York’s Bravest lose one of their own, took place less than 24 hours after Moon, still alive on a ventilator, was transferred from Kings County Hospital to NYU Langone Hospital in Manhattan to prepare for organ donation.
On Sunday morning, Moon’s widow, Kristina, and their two children stood side-by-side at the bunting ceremony with Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, top FDNY brass and firefighters from across the area.
Rescue 2 Captain Liam Flaherty remembered Moon as being “the perfect human” for donating his organs.
“If you were having the worst day of your life you would want Billy Moon riding on that fire truck over there. If I was trapped in a burning building or a collapse, I would want Billy coming for me,” Flaherty said. “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.”
