'Impractical Jokers' star Brian Quinn reflects on his time with FDNY and the importance of giving back

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Chicago firefighters pay their respects to lieutenant who died fighting high-rise blaze

Lt. Jan Tchoryk, a two-decade veteran of the Chicago Fire Department, died while responding to a fire in the city's Gold Coast neighborhood on Wednesday morning.

Brian Quinn, known to most Americans as "Q," has carved out a successful career as a member of the comedy troupe The Tenderloins, known for their hit TV show, Impractical Jokers.   

But before he was known for his antics on TV, Quinn was a member of the New York City Fire Department. 

Quinn joined the force in 2005 and stepped down eight years later as Impractical Jokers was gaining in popularity. He officially retired at the start of season 6. 

Though he hasn’t been an active member for nearly a decade, Quinn still feels a strong sense of allegiance to the FDNY and firefighters, generally. 

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FILE: Brian "Q" Quinn attends "Impractical Jokers: The Movie" A Conversation With The Tenderloins at 92nd Street Y on February 20, 2020, in New York City.  (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

"I think when you become a fireman, that’s your identity. That’s who you are," Quinn told Fox News Digital. "It’s what you do. It’s like a calling or a mission." 

To show his appreciation for the department, Quinn has volunteered for the non-profit group Friends of Firefighters. Formed in the days after 9/11, the group provides free mental health services and organizes charity events for firefighters and their families. 

 Pictured: (L-R) Impractical Jokers Salvatore Vulcano, James Murray and Brian Quinn, during an interview with host Seth Meyers on June 20, 2022. (Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Quinn said the group was on his radar soon after joining the FDNY. At that time, 9/11 was still casting a shadow over the department. Many members were suffering health problems they developed from 9/11 and the department was still regularly holding funerals. 

"When I came into the department, I worked with those guys and I mean, the stories they told of those days. It’s just far more horrifying than you could even imagine," Quinn said. "What they saw and what they witnessed and what they heard and smelled and lived… these are brutal, brutal events that happened to these guys." 

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Per Friends of Firefighters, thousands of active and retired firefighters responded to the alarm on 9/11 and nearly 350 members of the FDNY were killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center. 

Thick smoke billows into the sky from the area behind the Statue of Liberty, lower left, where the World Trade Center was, on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer)

Quinn noted that the impact was even felt by those who weren't on duty on 9/11, as many lost their closest friends "in one fell swoop." 

"[Friends of Firefighters] was so unbelievably helpful in the wake of 9/11," Quinn said. "They really laid the groundwork for helping out however they could."

He pointed to the group's efforts today to help remind the public that, despite 9/11 being more than two decades ago, people are still sick, and still dying as a result of that day. 

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"The fire department takes care of their own and always has, but you need support," Quinn said. "You can’t have too much support… I wouldn’t say [FDNY’s resources] are deficient, but you could always use more love."