By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A retired firefighter who spent two months surrounded by toxic rubble and dust at Ground Zero after 9/11 died from lung disease Tuesday, according to reports.
William Quick, who spent 23 years with the FDNY before being forced to retire because of lung infections, died in his Long Island home on Tuesday at the age of 55, his widow Lisa Quick told reporters. He had been placed on continuous oxygen before his death.
Quick worked at Ground Zero every day from Sept. to Nov. 2001. He came off the pile briefly after injuring his knee, returning in January 2002, but was forced to retire in 2003 when he began developing a series of lung infections, the New York Daily News reported.
"He was there when both towers came down," Quick's widow told the News. "He never had issues before with his lungs."
He never wanted to retire, she added.
Quick, who had always wanted to be a firefighter, worked tirelessly to rescue victims from the World Trade Center rubble, reports say.
Even after developing a cough, he was "hoping to give comfort to people who had lost loved ones there," his wife told the New York Post.
Quick is the second 9/11 emergency responder to die since President Barack Obama signed a $4.3 billion 9/11 bill, which will provide free healthcare and compensation to thousands of sick rescue and recovery workers and residents exposed to the Ground Zero dust.
First responder Roy Chelsen died Jan. 10 at the age of 58 from bone-marrow cancer that was also linked to the time he spent rescuing victims from Ground Zero.
Quick's widow told the News she is happy the Zadroga bill passed, especially since her husband left behind 17-year old twins Ryan Mary and William Henry.
"I hope that maybe it will help my children, because I don't know what happens now," she said.
