William
M. Feehan Feehan Was Fighting Fires Right Up to the End September
13, 2001 William M. Feehan, New York City's first deputy fire
commissioner, lived to fight fires. A 42-year department veteran,
he died Tuesday when the emergency services command center at
the World Trade Center collapsed. He was 71 years old -- fighting
fires to the end. At one time or another, Feehan held just about
every position a firefighter could aspire to, from fireman to
lieutenant, captain, deputy chief, chief of operations, fire chief
and commissioner, family members said. "Any call he got in the
middle of the night, he would be there,” his daughter, Tara Davan,
said. "He always had his gear in the fire department car. He was
always ready to go whenever he was asked.” Even when political
administrations changed, family members said, Feehan was asked
to stay
on in another senior-level capacity. After serving as commissioner
under Mayor David Dinkins, Feehan agreed to stay on as a first
deputy because he wanted to continue to serve, family members
said. Despite his seniority and years of experience, he was always
in the thick of things, never standing by the wayside, said his
son-in-law, Brian Davan, also a firefighter. "A friend of his
told me about a synagogue fire in midtown a couple of years ago,”
said Davan. "There was a collapse inside the synagogue and a huge
plume of smoke came up, and there was a thunderous roar, and everyone
was getting out of the way, and here was Bill, running into the
smoke and fire -- and he was 70 years old! That was Bill.” Born
in Long Island City, Feehan grew up in Jackson Heights, earned
a degree in education from St. John's University, and went off
to fight in the Korean War. He married the late former Elizabeth
Keegan in 1956, and worked as a substitute teacher in the city
schools for 10 years, though his real love was the fire department,
his children said. Both a son and a son-in-law are firefighters.
For almost 40 years, the Feehans were residents of Flushing. When
he wasn't out fighting blazes, Feehan, a voracious reader with
an avid interest in history, enjoyed spending time with his six
grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were incomplete yesterday.
Visiting will be held today and tomorrow from 2 to 5 p.m. and
7 to 10 p.m. at Martin A. Gleason Funeral Home, 149-20 Northern
Blvd. in Flushing. In addition to his daughter Tara, survivors
include daughter Elizabeth of Brooklyn, sons William (Billy) of
Princeton, N.J., and John of College Point, and six grandchildren.
--Ronnie Rabin (Newsday)
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