Billy Burke (firefighter)

William Francis Burke Jr. (March 9, 1955 – September 11, 2001) was a Fire Captain with the Fire Department of New York, who was killed in the September 11 attacks. Burke died when he chose to stay with stranded civilians in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Burke was the only member of Engine 21 who died in the attacks.

Life and career
William Francis Burke Jr. was born in New York City on March 9, 1955 to William Francis Burke Jr. and Agnes Burke. The second of six children, Burke grew up in Plainview, New York. He graduated from Plainview – Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School.

Inspired by his father, who worked as Deputy Fire Chief for the New York City Fire Department, Billy served as a firefighter for two decades prior to the September 11 attacks. Burke also worked a side job as a lifeguard at Robert Moses State Park. He resided in Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village in lower Manhattan.

Outside of work, Burke had multiple hobbies and interests. Burke was an avid photographer and wrote short stories in his spare time. Burke was fascinated in the American Civil War. Burke's sister, Dr. Elizabeth Berry, remarked that he had enough knowledge of the war to give tours of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Death
Burke and his company, Engine 21, responded to American Airlines Flight 11 striking the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Burke and numerous other firefighters gathered in the lobby of the North Tower were captured on camera by filmmaker Jules Naudet.

Inside the North Tower, Fellow Fire Captain Jay Jonas had been with Burke at 9:59a.m. as the neighboring South Tower collapsed. After feeling the collapse, they agreed that this meant the collapse of the North Tower was imminent. Fire Lieutenant Gregg Hansson and Burke came to an agreement that Hansson would lead Engine 21 down Stairwell C while Burke stayed behind on the 27th floor to assist Ed Beyea, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, and his friend Abe Zelmanowitz, who had chosen to stay with him. All three men died when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 am.

Fire Lieutenant Gregg Hansson met Burke for the first time the morning of the attack, and was the last surviving person to see Burke. He believed Burke knew the building's collapse was inevitable and knew he was sacrificing his own life.

Beyea and Zelmanowitz's remains were located together, but Burke's remains were never found. His Funeral Mass was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral on October 25, 2001.

Legacy
Burke's brother Michael organized an annual climb of One World Trade Center, the replacement for the World Trade Center towers, in memory of Burke and his colleagues.

The January 17, 2002 episode of the NBC sitcom Friends, "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath", depicts Joey Tribbiani wearing a shirt with "Engine 21" and Burke's name written on it as a tribute during the opening scene.