Remembering the Victims James F. Lyons

Spencer | Jackson | Lyons | McGuirk | Brotherton | Lucey

JIM BODOR
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Republished with permission

James F. Lyons knew instinctively that his son, Firefighter James F. “Jay” Lyons, had not survived Friday night.

“When I heard that six had gone in and not come out, I knew that Jay would be one of them,” Mr. Lyons said yesterday, his voice strong despite the trials of the previous 48 hours.

“Just knowing his personality, I knew he would be one of them. That's just the type of person he was.”

With emergency workers still sifting through the rubble of the former Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building, Mr. Lyons and other family members remembered Firefighter Lyons as a loving and hard-working man who had recaptured his life after an embarrassing incident four years ago.

“He was a gentle, loving boy,” Mr. Lyons said. “He made a mistake, but he moved on well after that and showed a lot of courage in coming back to the force and getting on with his life.”

Firefighter Lyons, 34, joined the Worcester Fire Department in 1987, immediately after graduating from Clark University. In 1992, after five years with the department, he decided to join the Massachusetts State Police.

He was assigned to the Shelburne Falls barracks in Western Massachusetts, but after 18 months he requested a transfer to Martha's Vineyard. He viewed the move as a professional step forward.

But he eventually left the State Police, later becaming a volunteer at St. Vincent Hospital, his father said, and worked closely with the family of a youngster stricken with cancer.

In 1997, he rejoined the Worcester Fire Department, returning to the job he always loved.

“As a young boy, he tugged at my sleeve to be taken to the fire station,” Mr. Lyons recalled.

Firefighter Lyons would become one of the best-liked members of the department, his close friends said.

“He was just a super guy,” said Firefighter Michael J. Lavoie, a 12-year veteran of Engine Company 13. “He was absolutely the type of guy to go into a building without a second thought. He would do whatever he could to help.”

When Firefighter Jim Cassidy, also a member of the company, visited Firefighter Lyons' apartment one day, he learned just how much his friend cherished the Fire Department. The apartment was filled with fire memorabilia and mementos, he remembered.

“He was just a great guy, easy to get along with, but someone you could be serious with at the same time,” Firefighter Cassidy said.

Firefighter Lyons' mother, Joan M. Lyons, said she has cherished memories of a recent trip she took with her son to Ireland. The two embarked on the 17-day journey in May.

“I had gone 11 years ago, and he always told me, 'We're going to go back.' So we did,” she said.

The Lyons family learned only yesterday that the firefighter had been planning a surprise for his parents and his sister, Kathryn. He had been taking bagpipe lessons, friends in the department told them, and wanted to impress them once he had mastered the instrument.

“He was a gentle, loving boy,” Mr. Lyons repeated. “He was a hero here, and he was a hero the day he was born.”