Thousands of firefighters gathered on Long Island to pay respects to fallen FDNY member William Tolley.
Tolley fell to his death at the scene of a fire in Ridgewood on April 20 as he was ventilating the roof of a five-story building on Putnam Avenue.
The funeral Mass, at St. Martin of Tours in Bethpage, began at 11 a.m. It follows two days of wake services, where Tolley was remembered as a loving father and dedicated firefighter.
The firefighters stood at attention, side-by-side in their dress uniforms, as the funeral procession for Tolley made its way up the street.
Trees and signposts along the sleepy suburban streets near the church were decorated with red ribbons, a show of support for Tolley, a 14-year FDNY veteran who lived in Bethpage with his wife, Marie, and their 8-year-old daughter, Isabella.
Investigators are still looking into what went wrong and whether Tolley was getting into the bucket at the top of the ladder truck when he fell.
With Newsday
