Farewell to a fallen friend

FRANKLIN-They came, more than 1,500 strong and with scores of fire trucks and rescue vehicles, to honor and pay their respects to one of their own who had died in the line of duty. Bill Pierce had been a former chief and member of both the Ogdensburg and Hardyston fire departments, and to the ranks of firefighters, EMS volunteers, police, friends and neighbors who gathered at the Ramsey Funeral Home Tuesday morning, he was a colleague, a friend and a hero. Pierce died on the afternoon of Feb. 10 while fighting a fire caused by a propane leak at a mobile home on Woodbine Drive in Franklin. Although the results of an autopsy was pending, he was felled by an apparent heart attack. The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Fain Webb, pastor of the Church of the Good Shephard on Route 23 in Wantage. Surrounded by copious floral arrangements, photo collages and drawings by Pierce's grandchildren, Webb stood by the open casket and invited those gathered to join her in Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd." "We are here today to celebrate Bill's life and to begin the process of mourning his death; he was a quiet man of many selfless deeds," said Webb. "This service is for a public hero and a very private man." Pierce suffered a heart attack while responding to a fire on the afternoon of Feb. 10 at Woodbine Avenue in Franklin and was pronounced dead at St. Claire's Hospital, Sussex at approximately 4 p.m. He was 53 and leaves behind his wife, Barbara, two sons, Bill Jr. and Kevin, four stepdaughters and a stepson. His stepdaughter Beth paid tribute to him by saying that he was really the only person in her life that she could honestly say she had only good memories of. "He came into our life 21 years ago when he met my mother, who was then a single mother of five, and found room for us in his heart, while still finding time for his two boys," she said. Hardyston and Ogdensburg firefighters served as an honor guard during the funeral service and the funeral procession to Hardyston Cemetery on Route 94 was escorted by fire trucks from both departments. Frank Lacatema, public information officer for the Sussex County Fire Department, was also a friend of the deceased. "Bill was a good man, and people who knew him as a friend considered him as a best friend. He was well liked, loved and will be missed," Lacatema said. "This is a fitting farewell to a fireman's fireman," he added. "The outpouring from all the departments was touching." John Raperto a former volunteer firefighter with the Hardyston Fire Department remembers serving with Pierce, saying, "The funny thing is he never wanted any glory. He just wanted to do his job." The house fire at Woodbine Avenue at which Pierce collapsed apparently started when a Ferrellgas propane delivery driver failed to disconnect a hose before driving off. Leaking gas ignited, causing the blaze. The driver has reportedly been suspended pending an investigation, but no charges have been filed.