Friends said firefighter Michael Davidson's died doing what he loved. 

"He always wanted to be a firefighter," said friend Noreen Brosnan Mummendey. "He was cut out to be a fireman. He was built like a fireman."

Davidson was her brother's best friend.

Noreen Brosnan Mummendey grew up with him in Woodside, Queens. Davidson attended St Sebastian Catholic Academy and later Archbishop Molloy High School.

Like many family and friends who streamed in and out of his Floral Park home, Mummendey was numbed by his tragic death. 

"He was amazing. He was athletic. He was fun. He was one of our greatest friends," she said.

His neighbors had nothing but praise for the 37-year-old, who would use his shovel or snowblower to help after every snowfall, including this week's nor'easter. 

"Somebody was doing my walkway and my driveway, and I looked out and I said, 'I wonder who that was?' Who do you think it was? Michael. And I saw him go back over to his house, and I shouted, 'Michael, Michael, thank you so much,'" said one neighbor. "Now that's the kind of guy he was. Just unassuming. He would help everybody and, you know, just do it quietly and go back home."

His death brought tears to the eyes of many, even though they say he and his wife and four kids had only lived on the street for three-and-a-half years.   

"I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. Not them," said neighbor Cathy Shaw.

"Very, very sad, and for a family with young children," said neighbor Janet Murray. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo both tweeted messages about Davidson's death.

"He was the best," Shaw said. "He and his wife, their children, very caring, loving family."

Davidson’s body now lies at a funeral home just blocks from his house.