"In my eyes that's exactly what he did, and I hope that's how it's remembered," said Brent Braunworth, a friend of Wilson's and a fellow lieutenant with West Palm Beach Fire-Rescue.

Wilson, 36, spent the day on and around Peanut Island, where West Palm Beach firefighters were fishing in a tournament. It also was his son Carter's fifth birthday.

By early afternoon, the father and son were riding a personal watercraft in the Intracoastal Waterway. The vessel stalled sometime before 6 p.m. Wilson decided to push the watercraft to a sandbar and swim with his son back to Peanut Island, said Phil Kaplan, fire department spokesman.

Colleagues say Wilson was an exceptional swimmer and a founding member of the fire department's dive team. But the current, normally strong in the channel as the tides shift, pulled even harder Saturday, the result of a full moon.

Wilson left his and Carter's life vests by the watercraft and tried to swim with Carter on his back, Coast Guard Petty Officer Alex Gaufillet said. It's unclear why Wilson left his vests on shore, how far he swam or what exactly brought him down.

Carter was saved about 6 p.m. after he attracted the attention of a man aboard a small sailboat. The sailor lifted Carter safely into his dinghy.

Wilson was face-down in the water by the time Coast Guard patrols reached him, Gaufillet said.

"You've got to be a hell of a swimmer to swim against the current," Gaufillet said.

Rescuers tried to resuscitate Wilson, even as they drove him to St. Mary's Medical Center. But it was no use. The man who spent 16 years saving others with the West Palm Beach Fire-Rescue Department could not be rescued.

His fellow firefighters were devastated.

"I loved him like a brother and I'll miss him forever," Braunworth said.

Wilson was born a firefighter. His father, James "Jim" Wilson, had been chief pilot for the Metro-Dade Fire Department. Jay Wilson inherited his father's passion for the job, his love of flying and his Mooney single-engine airplane.

Wilson, a lieutenant and member of the West Palm Beach department's special operations unit, wanted to pass the traditions on to his own sons, Carter and 2-year-old Cameron, according to Battalion Chief Bill Krick. Wilson and Krick were part of a group that took annual vacations in the Bahamas until the early 1990s.

Krick said Wilson was the type of friend and firefighter who would help colleagues with electrical work or car repair in his off-time and help teach them specialized rescue techniques while on duty.

Always willing to fly others in his airplane, he took Mayor Joel Daves to Tallahassee a few years ago on city business.

"The mayor slept most of the way, so that's how good a pilot Jay was," Krick said.

In addition to his two sons, Wilson is survived by his wife, Jennifer.

The fire department plans to establish a trust fund for the family this week.