Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams Briefs Media With FDNY Commissioner Kavanagh on Critical Injury of Firefighter Moon

December 16, 2022

Video available at: https://youtu.be/_3wSz19POp0

Mayor Eric Adams: Good morning. I'm joined here by members of my senior team in the FDNY and Deputy Mayor Banks, Fire Commissioner Kavanagh, Chief of Department Hodgens, and my chief advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin. I don't think sometimes people realize the vicarious trauma that those of us who have to go to the hospital when a member of our first responders are involved in some serious physical injury. I know for me personally, it takes several days before you could sort of normalize your emotions after speaking to family members and loved ones, it is extremely challenging.

And it is challenging for us today that we have to deal with this heartbreaking responsibility as the commissioner, deputy mayor, and of course as the mayor of the city. One of our bravest firefighters, William Moon, is in critical condition at this time, and this morning it became clear that he will not survive his injuries. 

His family has made the difficult decision to donate his organs to save the lives of others. Firefighter Moon is a hero twice over. He spent 21 years saving the lives of his fellow New Yorkers and he will continue to save lives in his passing. I met with firefighter Moon's wife, Christina, earlier this week in the hospital and I was really touched by her level of just bravery. She gave us strength by watching her deal with the uncertainty of what was going to happen with her family. And we prayed for firefighter Moon, Christina, their two children, this entire family, particularly as we look at this time of the year where families normally come together to celebrate their holidays. 

I joined the FDNY brothers and sisters in grieving the outcome of this situation. New York City is a family and not only do we care for each other, but at the forefront of that caring are those who run into danger, those who put their lives on the line to ensure that we can experience the freedom and safety that we have in New York. And firefighter Moon was very much part of that family. He represents a devotion and bravery that makes up the fabric of the FDNY and other first responders. We are extremely grateful for his service and sacrifice to our great city, and we're asking all to keep firefighter Moon and his family in our prayers. And I'll turn it over to Commissioner Kavanagh. 

Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh: Thank you. As the mayor mentioned, this is an incredibly heartbreaking day for our department. Late Monday morning while preparing for a drill in his Firehouse, Rescue Company 2 in Brooklyn, Firefighter Moon fell approximately 20 feet and suffered a serious head injury. He received immediate care from his fellow firefighters and was rushed to Kings County Hospital by FDNY EMS.

At the hospital, he received expert care every step of the way from the doctors and nurses, but sadly today it became clear he would not survive his very serious injuries from that fall. He has a wife, Christina, and two young children. She is remarkably strong woman and obviously their family is in very great pain right now, as are we. 

We ask that their privacy be respected at this time as we have tried to do this week. It has been a very difficult few days for his family, for his firehouse. And is it especially painful at this time of year, so I ask everyone to keep them in your prayers. And I'm going to ask Jack Hodgens to say a few words.

Chief of Department John Hodgens, Fire Department: As already mentioned, this is a heartbreaking, tragic accident that occurred being felt by the entire FDNY, Billy's family and friends. Billy was a dedicated… is a dedicated firefighter who spent most of his career in Ladder Company 133 in Jamaica, Queens. His actions there—it's a busy ladder company—no doubt contributed to the saving of hundreds of lives throughout his 20-year career. Billy was a type of firefighter who wanted to do more. 
So in January of this year, he transferred to Rescue Company 2 in Brooklyn, which is an elite unit that not only responds to fires, also responds to any type of emergency you can imagine happening in this City of New York, such as window washers trapped high above the street due on a scaffolding that need to be rescued, drowning victims where scuba divers are needed to rescue the victims, a construction worker trapped by some type of collapse where they need to be extricated. 
This is the type of work that Rescue 2 trains and does very well. This type of work requires extensive training. Billy was preparing for one of these training exercises when this tragic accident occurred. Billy is a dedicated firefighter who we will always remember as an important mission of the New York City Fire Department. His legacy will live on forever.

Commissioner Kavanagh: Billy's wife, Christina asked me to read a quote she had written, so this is from Christina Moon. “Loving Billy was not only a marriage of families, but a marriage to the Fire Department. His love and passion for the job extended far from the firehouse walls. He instilled that same passion in our children and always talked about how important it was to help others. We are eternally grateful for the Christmas miracles that Billy will now be able to give others. Thank you.” We'll take some questions. 

Deputy Mayor Phil Banks, Public Safety: We just want to recognize the members up here. We have Bobby Eustace, who is the Vice President of the UFA, First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo. We have the senior advisor to the mayor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin. We have the UFOA President Jim McCarthy. Now we'll go to questions.

Question: Is there any more details about the nature of the training exercise that this firefighter was conducting? I know it was a 20-foot fall, but is there an investigation into what maybe led up to that that could have led to this? 

Commissioner Kavanagh: We are looking into that. We will have more details when we're done looking into it.

Question: This occurred at the fire station, at Rescue 2?

Commissioner Kavanagh: Correct, Rescue 2 in Brooklyn.

Question: So are they usually doing drills within the fire station?

Commissioner Kavanagh: It's extremely common, particularly at Rescue 2. The chief and I have been there in the last week observing them doing drills. It's one of the things they're known for. 

Question: Can you just talk about how he wasn't just an FDNY firefighter, but also served in Islip too as a volunteer firefighter?

Chief of Department Hodgens: Yeah. As I stated earlier, Billy did a long career in Queens and wanted more and he transferred to Rescue 2 in Brooklyn. He was also a volunteer firefighter where he lived in Islip, and in that department at one time he was the chief of that department. So he is very dedicated to his community as well as the City of New York.

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