Everyday Inspirations: Fire Captain Bill Lyons

Everyday Inspirations is a series that features people in Patch communities who inspire others through their work, or people who have faced extraordinary situations and grown from them. They have been featured by other people in the community that have been inspired by the nominees.

Name: Bill Lyons
Town: Long Beach, CA
Nominated by: Jeanne Rockett

Why is this person an "Everyday Inspiration?" 
Bill has been there for myself and my three girls since the death of my husband, Firefighter Engineer Darren S. Rockett. My husband died unexpectedly of a heart attack in November 2011 at the age of 47.

Bill sacrifices his time unselfishly by ensuring the girls and I are taken care of as our situation was dire. His most recent sacrifice was he called in sick to accompany my youngest daughter to the father-daughter dance at Newcomb Academy.

Has the nominee's life been changed in an extraordinary way? 

Bill's life has been changed forever! He and my husband Darren graduated from the Fire Academy and also worked together for many years. Bill is also our neighbor and upon hearing my screams for help he jumped our brick wall and attempted with all of his power to save my husband's life.

How does this person work to make others' lives better?

Bill works very hard at my preschool for moderate to low income families. Recently we were flooded out and Bill came to the rescue. He arranged for a fire engine to come and suck out the water. He also assisted with the clean up and is going to replace all of the base boards. This will save money, which will be a big help to our preschool. There have been many cuts to our program.