Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/William M. Feehan (2nd nomination)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   keep. The consensus is that being Chief of the FDNY is sufficient to make Feehan notable enough for inclusion in Wikipedia  Phantom Steve / talk &#124; contribs \ 03:08, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

William M. Feehan
AfDs for this article: 
 * – ( View AfD View log )

Non-notable stub article. Victim of September 11 attacks but does not meet WP:NOTABILITY guidelines. Also, article falls under WP:NOTMEMORIAL. Nominating individually based upon earlier AFD.  Sottolacqua  (talk) 17:47, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Keep This man became Chief of the New York Fire Department ten years before 9/11/2001, so was notable before that day. He held every rank in the department during his long career. He was the most senior of the 343 firefighters who died that day, and is clearly notable. Cullen328 (talk) 18:22, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Comment–Being a fire chief for x years is not criteria that proves notability.  Sottolacqua  (talk) 18:29, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Question Have you done a Google news search with an ending date of 9/10/2001 to see if he was notable the day before he died? Cullen328 (talk) 18:38, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * My function is not to search Google with specific date ranges in order to determine whether or not this subject is notable. The article as it stands contains no information whatsoever that meets any criteria in WP:NOTABILITY. If perceived sources exist that would prove this, why haven't they been added in the 4.5 years since the article's creation? This person simply does not meet the standards for inclusion here.  Sottolacqua  (talk) 18:45, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Your function as the AfD nominator, Sottolacqua, is to comply fully with the AfD policy, which states that "Articles for which thorough attempts to find reliable sources to verify them have failed" are eligible for deletion. Accordingly, your function before nominating the article is to conduct such a thorough attempt to find reliable sources.  Please review WP:BEFORE for discussion of your function in this and related  AfD debates.  I have now completed that Google search I mentioned previously with an end date of 9/10/2001, and found at least fifty articles in reliable sources that describe Feeny as a top fire department official or quote him on fire department business, all published before September 11.  There are many more that were published after his death.  Now, let's take a look at WP:MEMORIAL which you cite.  It says, "Subjects of encyclopedia articles must satisfy Wikipedia's notability requirements. Wikipedia is not the place to memorialize deceased friends, relatives, acquaintances, or others who do not meet such requirements."  This particular article most certainly does not exist merely to memorialize someone who is simply a deceased friend, relative or acquaintance.  It is a biography of the highest ranking of a group of 343 firefighters who died in heroic service during the worst terrorist attack on the United States.  This man was notable and is deserving of encyclopedic coverage. Any shortcomings in the article as currently written should be addressed through normal editing rather than deletion. Cullen328 (talk) 21:08, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia now has 35 articles that are biographies of Commissioners of the New York City Fire Department throughout its history. I take that as consensus that people holding this office are notable. Cullen328 (talk) 21:18, 13 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Keep Although I said in the Edelmiro Abad debate that I would have !voted "delete", I think that he was more notable in life than he was in death, based on FDNY's size and his ranking. I see some frustrations building over this one-- let's try not to get too upset over this one, guys.  I agree with Cullen on some of these and with Sotto on others.  I'm aware that we have articles about other 9/11 victims besides the ones nominated here, so if the ones picked are the weakest in the nominator's opinion, it reaffirms my opinion that WP:MEMORIAL works pretty well. Mandsford 02:04, 14 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Meh - Being the FD Chief of a city of this size scrapes by I guess, but I can't see how the encyclopedia is enriched by a basic "he was appointed in year x, was born in Y, and died in Z" biography. Tarc (talk) 15:45, 14 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Keep I agree with Cullen328's reasoning. Being chief of the New York Fire Department makes him notable.  He was quoted and asked for his expert opinion by the news media whenever there was a fire.   D r e a m Focus  02:57, 15 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Terrorism-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 15:44, 15 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 15:44, 15 February 2011 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.