Bill G. Roberts Celebrates a Career Dedicated as a Firefighter

    CANTON, NC, March 16, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Bill G. Roberts has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

As a retired fire chief in the state of Texas, Bill G. Roberts prides himself on a distinguished career of courage and community service. Though he feels that he became a firefighter purely by accident, it became a career that he wore well, and led him along a successful thirty-plus-year career.

Mr. Roberts' fateful journey into firefighting began in 1958, when one of his friends decided to travel to Dallas in order to apply for a position with the city fire department. Mr. Roberts and another of their friends were with him at the time, and they decided to apply as well. Although they arrived after the testing deadline, they were allowed to take the test anyway. Humorously, although Mr. Roberts' friend that originally wanted to become a firefighter did not pass the test, Mr. Roberts himself and his other friend did, so Mr. Roberts went on to join the Dallas Fire Department, where he would remain until 1983, advancing steadily through the ranks. In Dallas, he found an excellent mentor in the first battalion chief of the Dallas Fire Department, I.D. Jones. Mr. Roberts worked with Chief Jones for six years until he became a lieutenant in 1964. From there, Mr. Roberts wasted no time, becoming a captain in 1967, division fire chief in 1971 and assistant fire chief in 1983.

In between his official roles with the Dallas Fire Department, Mr. Roberts also held a number of career-adjacent roles, such as his work as a field engineer with IBM. Although he is not an engineer by training, his experience gave him the foundation he needed to perform engineering work in the field. As a consultant, Mr. Roberts shared his knowledge with such organizations as the University of Tennessee, Georgia Institute of Technology, the Texas Department of Health Resources, and Rand Corporation.

During his time in Dallas, Mr. Roberts was far from idle. In fact, he used the time to advance his knowledge base through various courses of study at Southern Methodist University and North Texas State University. He also completed a graduate paramedic course at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1974 and a graduate executive program for fire service from Texas A&M in 1978. Two years later, he completed his Associate of Applied Sciences at El Centro Junior College. He used these educational credentials to realize his own gift for academia, serving as an adjunct faculty member at the National Fire Academy from 1981 until 1986. Finally, he completed a graduate executive fire officer program at the National Fire Academy in 1989.

Following his work with the Dallas Fire Department, in 1983, Mr. Roberts became the fire chief of the Austin Fire Department, where he remained for the rest of his career, retiring in 1994. Now that he is retired from a thoroughly exciting journey as a firefighter and leader, Mr. Roberts joked that he is not currently looking for any new challenges greater than his local Rotary club. In his spare time, Mr. Roberts is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the American Heart Association. He also enjoys working on his computer, and spending time with his daughter, Renee Ann, and his granddaughter, Nola.

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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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