- [voiceover] funding for this program was provided by firstnet, built with at&t, the wireless communications network, built with and for america's first responders. additional funding provided by jp morgan chase & co. - [interviewer] right now you are deputy commissioner- - right. - of the fire department? - right, first deputy commissioner is the official title, right here, right. - [interviewer] okay, and where are we, what city? - new york. (laughs) (slow piano) when you have a department, whose men and women

are expected to be ready at any moment to put their life on the line... (sirens and horns) to go to the aid of a stranger, even when it means that you may put yourself in harm's way, actually, in dire peril, i don't think you can pay people to do that job. there has to be something beyond money that makes them do that. the thing that sets the firefighter apart is that it's he or she who, when the bell sounds, goes to do whatever is necessary to help the person who called them. no matter what we do, no matter how well we train, no matter how good our equipment is, no matter how hard we try, no matter what, the time will come when we will lose another firefighter. (sirens in distance) - bill feehan was "the father of the fire department",

that's what we nicknamed him up in the office. and i can tell you from the five or six fire commissioners that i worked for, he was the guy that they would go to. "ask bill feehan, let's check with bill, get bill feehan in here, he'll know what to do." - he was the go-to person for me, my whole time assigned here, the first few years i was in headquarters. i think we're known... we know a lot about fires, we know a lot about fire prevention and that thing, but many of us are limited in other areas. and bill seem to have a wide breadth of knowledge of other subjects that kind of set him apart. - bill was basically the knowledge center of the fire department. there were things that he knew that never had been documented. so usually things would end up getting run by bill, and he wasn't always in the chain of command for it. it was just, you naturally knew you needed to reach out, because he would either know the answer,

or he would direct you to the right person. usually he knew the answer, though, it was rare that he would not. - i knew immediately that he was my go-to guy for understanding how the department worked. i'd him a question, "how many 100-foot tower ladders do we have?" and he'd not only tell you how many tower ladders you had, he'd tell you the entire history of a tower ladder, and the architecture of new york, so what kind of building you needed a tower ladder for. no casual conversation with bill was a casual conversation. it was a conversation that you walked away from learning more than you knew when you walked into the conversation. - commissioner feehan was always the first out the door. if there was an explosion, if there was a collapse, he was the first one to put on his jacket and head out the door. he was very happy to be out in the field responding, and being part of the action. i think the fire department truly leads from the front and the top.

that's why on 9/11, so many of the very most senior leaders were at that event. - on that morning, i was just one floor below when i felt this building shake. as if i thought someone here on the eighth floor dropped something quite heavy. and pete ganci was just down the hall and he yelled, "look out the window, a plane just hit the world trade center." we could see it from our windows. - i was sitting in my office, and my office looked at the trade center. and i saw the plane go into the building, saw a fireball come out, and saw the smoke come out. i get up, go right into bill's office, said, "i think a plane crashed into the trade center." myself, bill, tom fitzpatrick, we all went down to the garage, got into bill's car. as we came out, we have people running all over brooklyn already. and i'm saying like, "what the hell is going on here?" - [tom] pete stopped the car, and we got out,

and started to head towards the plaza. bill and i were just near the big ball, these sphere. the sound of a plane coming down. - bill was at the back of the car with tom fitzpatrick, putting their coats on. i just remember hearing that roaring noise. (explosion) - and when it hit the building, i never saw it, because i don't think bill saw it either, in full scale. we just both were sort of looking that way to get hit by something. - i really knew that there was gonna be a lot of guys in trouble. and i had a feeling that my father, you know, would maybe be part of that. - never did i think that my father-in-law would be in any danger, because he's a chief. he was the first deputy fire commissioner. he's not stretching hose line, he's not going up into the building. (siren) - as we got closer to the building, you could see that there was something major going on, from the different angle that we saw it at.

bill was the one, when he saw more of the damage, said that this was gonna be historic. - [man on radio] it's a horrific scene here, there's debris flying through the air... (melancholy music) - bill had a tremendous institutional memory. like i say, i think his love of history really translated into the fire department. but he enjoyed the the history of it, and the way it had grown, the way it had evolved, into such a phenomenal department. - [bill] my father came into the department in 1926, i think, right? and i was born in '29, and i came into the department in '59, he retired in '58. - now, when bill got on the job in the late '50s, almost all the probies coming on the job were veterans, as bill was. he was not only a career-combat veteran from korea, but he was also a college graduate. - [bill] graduated from college in '52,

and i went right into the army. and when i came out of the army, my father was still in the department, was working in headquarters. - he got on the job at 30 years old, which is a little bit late. and he decided, "i'm unlike my dad, i'm gonna study and go up the ranks." and he did it with a vengeance. - i loved every place i've worked, i loved every rank i've had, but there was always that thing, "well, let me try the next one." i don't know, there was just, i guess, a desire to, "well, let me take one more shot at this," right, "let me see what the next one is about." - [kerry] bill feehan held every rank in the department, obviously from firefighter, up to the fire commissioner. at one point in his career, he was chief of fire prevention, chief of operations. he knew the job inside and out, because he had worked in so many different aspects, in so many different bureaus of the department. - chief feehan was a strong advocate for firefighter safety.

- laws were changed, he testified often in front of the city council to make sure like, local law 5 was changed. that put a huge onus on building owners, for the first time, to build properly, so that they could contain fires. and new sprinkler laws were introduced, and he would know exactly how, and why, those things should happen. and he made sure that they happen. - i think he saw that, with better technology, better equipment, better response, the role of the fire department needed to change and needed to modernize. - as you look back to different generations, of bill's father's generation, my father's generation, what they did for the department just made the next generation better. so the firefighters today are better than they ever were, because they have the benefit of the many generations that worked so hard before them to make the job better. - he loved the job, he grew up in jackson heights as a 3-year-old, running down the block

as the fire engines were going by. and we all have that kind of calling, you know, everybody on the fire department. his car was the first one in the parking lot in the morning, and the last one out; he loved it. - he taught me an extraordinary amount of good things. there was one day on flatbush avenue, a building had collapsed. and mcmadison's funeral home was across the street. - right. - and bill sent me over, and said, "michael," this is at 7:00, he said, "bang on the door at mcmadison's." i said, "why?" he said, "if there's gonna be a funeral coming out of there at 8:00 or 9:00, let's move some of these fire engines and make sure that family is taken care of." like bill thought about things like that that no one else in the fire department ever did. always concerned about the people, the public. (sirens) - so all day, you know, the whole world was concerned, and horrified and everything. and i had this feeling about my father,

but i also had this just incredible feeling, as a new yorker, just feeling... i was in princeton, i felt like i was in the wrong place. - [tom] so after a few minutes, bill, myself, we went across the north bridge to the financial center. and the one thing we noticed right away is that, as the units came in, they were starting to block up the west side highway. and bill said, "we gotta get some of these trucks to the side so we can get the ambulances in and out." - bill and fitz went across the street to hook up with chief ganci. - [lynn] bill was meeting with the senior chief to see how they were deploying people, where they were deploying them, what they were doing. and tom von essen came up to me and said, "why don't you get bill and tommy fitzpatrick, and go across the street, check out what's going on. we need a new command center over there, we're gonna be here a long time," and all that kind of stuff. and i said, "okay." and tom told me later, that the entire purpose

of asking me to do that was to get bill out of the building. - i remember my thought was, "get him the hell out of here," 'cause i didn't want him in that building, because i didn't... you know, i was worried about what was gonna happen in that building. he would never try to take charge, but they would know that he was there to counsel, and and give them any advice on something they might be missing. and it never hurt to have another... a guy of his stature and knowledge, at that time - i never saw him lose his cool or speak negatively. the most he might throw a little funny comment. - and i said, "bill, is it possible there was a mid-air collision?" and he looked at me with this absolutely incredulous look, and said, "it's terrorism, you knucklehead." (voices overlapping on radio)

- as i was probably 180 degrees away from them, that's when the south tower tower came down, and they took refuge in the financial center. (rumbling) - got covered in dust, and jumped into a building to the left, and building to the right. we just waited for the dust to settle a little bit. came out and said, "well, what the hell is that?" and i forget which one said to me that they're getting reports that the south tower collapsed. - and as i was working my way back, they came out, there were people trapped. bill, at age 70, i believe at the time, joined pete, and they were going to participate in rescuing these trapped members along west street. (sirens) - there was no job he didn't want to do. he was involved in every level of the department.

he just was inspirational. whenever you hear a speech that he's given, and you hear his voice, it brings you right back to where you were. - bill was an excellent public speaker, and he;d be the last one to tell you that. we'd go to a ceremony, some sort of a political thing, groundbreaking, whatever it happened to be. bill would get to the meeting, it'd be his time to speak. he'd get up, and he'd go on and on and on, and everything made sense and it all fit together, and there was nothing out of place. and it was just what the people wanted to hear. - and the time will come in each of your careers, when you will have to take that calculated risk, and go in harm's way to protect, or to save a life. for some of you that time may not come for a long while. for others, it will come very early on in your career. for some, it will come, but a few times. for others, it will come time and time again;

but it will come. take care of yourselves, take care of each other. and every tour you work, may god hold you in the hollow of his hand. (audience applauds) - he was extremely well read, and he had a beautiful command of the english language. so spontaneously, that's why he was so good at the eulogies, also. he also knew irish literature and poems, and sentimental things, you know, which is all schmaltz in the fire department, which is what we did all the time. and so he could sit down and just write something, right off the top of his head, that was beautiful, and pure, and perfectly appropriate for the setting. - and i recall, as a young man, graduating from the probationary fire academy, hearing a chief or a commissioner make his speech. in which he talked about firefighters putting their lives on the line every day. and i remember being embarrassed,

and feeling that it was a little overblown, and somewhat melodramatic. then the time came, as it comes to every one of us who wears this uniform, when we realize that it's not melodramatic; that it is a fact. that in the twinkling of an eye, something can change, and we can find ourselves in mortal peril. - you know, he served in korea, and i used to think about that, and that's the way he faced most things. we lost so many guys yesterday, but the company has to keep moving on. - that's how he lived his life, by doing right by the guys out in the field. "what did we do for the guys in the field today? how did we work to make their lives better?" and that was a mantra that he lived by. - [bill] no department in the world, no one approaches the workload of the new york city fire department. if it were not for the caliber and the quality of the people, then it would be an impossible job, right? - as he said, "it's not about us up here in headquarters,

it's about those companies all over the city, that are going day in and day out, all hours of their day, to do the job, to make the fire fall." - [brian] bill and i talked about the fire department a lot. we never really anticipated any type of operation like a 9/11. it was almost out of the realm. - [tom] and i remember bill saying to me, "fitzy, what's that?" and i looked up, and you're looking almost straight up, at that point, 'cause we were actually too close to the building. and it was all this sparkling going on at the top of the building, where the fire was, and that was strange. and the fact that we were standing so close under it, you couldn't tell if it was actually coming down. looked like it was just coming out. but then we realized, as the debris cloud started to come over to financial center,

that everybody just reacted at once, and turned around and ran into the garage. (loud crashing) ran into there, and as soon as we got just inside the door, the debris cloud hit the street. (loud rumbling) but from the time bill said, "what's that?", that was the last time i saw him. - it's like, the last face he made at me, was a face like that. in other words, like, "you gotta be kidding me," but i had good intentions, you know, i wanted to get him out of there. - and that turned out to be the last thing he ever said to me: "it's terrorism, you knucklehead." (melancholy music) when the second tower came down, it came their way. and that was it for them. (melancholy music)

- [bill] and other people outside the department may look on them, and sometimes wonder, why we do these things? you know, we've had 127 years of a paid fire department in new york city. and in that 127 years, we've lost 752 people. that's an awfully large number. i mean, i think we all have the same wish that, you know, that that's the last, that we'll never lose another. but i know, i mean, i know, as sure as i'm sitting here, that someday, somewhere, sometime, there'll be a 753rd. - about 4:00, i got a call from my father's great friend, henry mcdonald, and he was on the site. and he was on a cell phone, and it broke up, and he said, you know, he said, "bill, i got some bad news." and i knew. (mellow music) - to lose him was tremendous. you know, we lost so many people that day, that it's sometimes hard to separate out, because you have a personal story

and feelings about so many of those people. but he was literally someone i talked to almost every day. - they'd been at my birthday party, a week, two weeks before, you know? we had all been happy and everything. and you know, i saw 'em, and i just couldn't take it. - the fire department lost bill, at the time they probably needed him really the most. you know, like he was the guy who really could have put things back together- - yeah. - starting on september 12th, right? - yeah. - we honored bill as we would go on to honor, you know, 343 people, one by one. it was a very difficult stretch that went on for months. - he was the highest ranking firefighter to ever die in new york city. he was the oldest, he was just shy of his 72nd birthday. and the first assignment i got after 9/11

was to write bill's eulogy, and i couldn't do it. i said, "i can't do that one, there's no way." and i wanted him to have the best eulogy in the world, but there was no way i could write it, so mike regan wrote it. and then at his funeral, my aide, who was working with the commissioner that day, kept it in his pocket and never gave it to tom. so tom had to stand up and wing the eulogy anyway, and tommy did a great job. - and i remember thinking i did a terrible job, and i remember just like crying a lot, and you know, having trouble getting through it. - i love my father, you know, more than anything. and, you know, can't believe i'm not gonna have him, you know? (voice breaks) but this whole sense was building, you know, and i don't know whether i'll have this sense tonight, or tomorrow, but you know, he was totally, totally loved. you know, he was totally respected. you know, he was really, you know,

as they say in the paper, historic, you know, legendary. i mean, you know, he's a giant, giant figure, yeah. people loved what he did. if someone was 51, you'd say, "what in the name of god were they still doing being on the street at the..." you know, he was 71. and what i'm trying to get to is that he died doing exactly what he wanted to do, you know? and there's a certain... you know, as terrible as it is on a personal basis, and as a son, there's a certain gratitude i have, i guess, is the only word that, you know, he never wanted to retire and he didn't. - and that might sound very cliche, but it's true. he died as a fireman, commanding the biggest fire to ever happen in new york city. and that's what he would've wanted. - dinkins made him the commissioner before he left office. bill would never move into the commissioner's office.

- he still called himself chief feehan. and when he answered the phone, it was chief feehan. - i think he liked to be called chief, because he felt that was a title that was earned as you worked up. and it represented what he thought was how he liked to be seen. - a fire chief, nobody gave it to you, you earned it all on your own. and i think that's why he was most proud about being a chief, and wanted to be thought of as a chief, right to the very end. - and i know how terrible this might sound, but i had hoped to be the chief of the department. i came in hoping to be the chief of the department. and it meant to me that, you know, that i had achieved what i wanted to do. it was an extremely proud thing, but it was also a very humbling, because you realize that now that you become a symbol of this department, right? and that you no longer are just yourself, but that you are viewed as... and what you do, and say, and how you act,

can reflect on all these other people. the the pride, and the tradition, and the honor, that is symbolic of this department, are really in your keeping. (uplifting music) (sirens and horns) (upbeat music)

- [voiceover] funding for this program was provided by firstnet, built with at&t, the wireless communications network, built with, and for, america's first responders. additional funding provided by jpmorgan chase & co. if you'd like to learn more about chief feehan, please visit www.canmanproductions.net.