William Michael Feehan (September 29, 1929 – September 11, 2001) was a member of the

Fire Department of New York The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

who died during the collapse of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

. He was the second-highest official in the department.

Early life

William Feehan was born September 29, 1929 in

Long Island City, Queens Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

, and grew up in Jackson Heights. Feehan graduated from

Saint John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) ** St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus * College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and C ...

in 1952. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in Korea during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, during which he was decorated with the

Combat Infantry Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

Korean Service Medal The Korean Service Medal (KSM) is a military award for service in the United States Armed Forces and was established November 8, 1950 by executive order of President Harry Truman. The Korean Service Medal is the primary US military award for se ...

, UN Service Medal and

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...

Career

Feehan held every rank within the fire department, starting with Probationary Firefighter upon his appointment on October 10, 1959, and was the first firefighter to do so. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1964 and eventually to Chief of Department in 1991. In 1992, he was appointed Deputy Fire Commissioner. Upon the resignation of Fire Commissioner Carlos M. Rivera, he briefly served as Acting Fire Commissioner through the end of Mayor

David N. Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enteri ...

administration from August 31, 1993 until December 31, 1993. After incoming Mayor

Rudolph W. Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 1 ...

picked

Howard Safir Howard Safir (born February 24, 1942) is an American law enforcement professional who served as the 39th New York City Police Commissioner from 1996 to 2000 and the 29th New York City Fire Commissioner from 1994 to 1996, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. ...

to become Fire Commissioner of the

City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Feehan returned to his previous position of First Deputy Fire Commissioner of the

. Although high-ranking members of the FDNY and other city departments ordinarily are asked to step aside for incoming mayors to make their own appointments, according to an FDNY spokesman, this was not requested of Feehan, because he was so knowledgeable that he "was thought to know the location of every fire hydrant in the city." Feehan served in that position, the second-highest position in the department, until his death.

Personal life

Feehan lived in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

Death and legacy

On September 11, 2001, during

, Feehan was at a forward command post during the collapse of the North Tower of the

, and was killed in that event. He was 71.

Tom Junod Tom Junod (born April 9, 1958) is an American journalist. He is the recipient of two National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors. Early life In 1980, Junod graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the S ...

, writing in ''

Esquire magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...

'', wrote that surviving first responders remember Feehan admonishing a bystander who was recording individuals jumping from the building's windows, asking them "Don't you have any human decency?" Feehan was survived by his daughters, Elizabeth Feehan and Tara Davan, and sons, William Feehan and firefighter John Feehan, who had worked in Squad Company 252 and as Captain of Engine 249. He was also survived by six grandchildren. At the

National 9/11 Memorial The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombi ...

, Feehan is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-18. In 2015 the FDNY acquired a fireboat named after Feehan. The vessel is a ''fast response''

fireboat A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipmen ...

, capable of pumping 8,000 gallons per minute, with a top speed of . It is long and was made by using scrap metal from the Twin Towers.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Feehan, William, M. 1929 births 2001 deaths New York City firefighters St. John's University (New York City) alumni Commissioners of the New York City Fire Department Emergency workers killed in the September 11 attacks United States Army soldiers American terrorism victims Terrorism deaths in New York (state) United States Army personnel of the Korean War People murdered in New York City Male murder victims United States Army officers