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Tinker employee recognized for heroism

  • Published
  • By Darren D. Heusel
  • 72nd Air Base Wing, Public Affairs
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Okla. --  Bill Randall doesn't consider himself a hero. Members of the Oklahoma City Fire Department would beg to differ. 

Mr. Randall, a sheet metal mechanic with the 566th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, was on his way to work at Tinker in the wee morning hours of Jan. 11 when he noticed smoke and flames billowing out of a home at 8024 N.W. 113th, just a few blocks from his house. 

Mr. Randall stopped his car, approached the front door of the house and heard a faint voice coming from inside. After several attempts to get someone to answer the door failed, he kicked the door in and helped get the occupants to safety as flames engulfed the dwelling. 

For his efforts, the crew at Fire Station 34 honored the "Good Samaritan" with a certificate in a Saturday ceremony at 8617 N. Council Road. 

"I'm grateful for the recognition," Mr. Randall said. "It makes me feel pretty good. I appreciate it a lot. When I left for work that morning, I wasn't thinking I was going to be a hero and end up doing what I did at the time. 

"I was just concerned if there was anyone at home and whether I could get them out. I was also trying to be as safe as I could because I didn't want to be a victim." 

Turns out the faint voice Mr. Randall heard was that of 2-year-old Jordan Williams, who had fallen asleep in the living room along with his 3-year-old sister, Katelynn Johnson. Their parents, Kevin Williams, 24, and Kristen Johnson, 20, were asleep in their bedroom. 

"I went up to the front door and started yelling, 'Fire! Fire! You need to get out!'" he said. "I was looking through a window next to the front door and could hear what sounded like something squeaky. 

"I pounded on the door and looked in the window again. Finally, I gave up and kicked the door in. Once I got inside, I yelled 'Fire!' again." 

Moments later, Mr. Randall said he heard the family running toward the back of the house, so he exited through the front door. 

Once the family had escaped the inferno, Mr. Randall ran into the street and dialed 911 on his cell phone. While waiting on rescue crews, Mr. Randall said the family members were standing around in their pajamas wrapped in blankets so he invited the family to have a seat in his car. 

"It was cold and windy that night, so I invited them to come sit in my car so they could get warm," he said. 

Firefighters arrived a short time later and extinguished the blaze within 15 minutes. They estimated the damage to the dwelling to be about $80,000. 

Mark Harsen, Mr. Randall's supervisor, said knowing his employee and his character, that's just a normal day for him. 

"He's always going out of his way to help people," Mr. Harsen said. "We were all real proud of him for what he'd done." 

The family members thanked the Tinker employee for his heroism, but Mr. Randall said he only did what he felt was right at the time. 

"I don't really feel like a hero," Mr. Randall said. "I don't know if anyone would have done what I did because the entryway was on fire and was falling apart. (The smoke) was pretty thick in there. The fire department figured the fire had been in the walls for hours. 

"The whole thing was kind of weird. My daughter said it reminded her of the parable in the Bible of the Good Samaritan." 

Oklahoma City Battalion Chief Cecil Clay described Mr. Randall's actions as heroic and was glad the station could do something to recognize him for his efforts. 

"We appreciate the fact that Mr. Randall went above and beyond and saved this family from certain peril," Chief Clay said. "As firefighters, we're trained to do these sorts of things and there are a lot of folks who consider us heroes. But, we have the equipment and training to make those assessments. Here, we're looking at a citizen who has no protective equipment and makes a calculated risk to do what he did." 

"I've been asked why we decided to recognize Mr. Randall and the reason is he did take a risk with his physical life. Something could have happened to him. Not many people would put themselves in that situation. He was committed enough to know that if he didn't act, someone could have lost their life," Chief Clay said.