Management came across some old Boston Globe articles with more info about The Chief.
WB first worked in the Milton Fire Department as an engineer creating a fire signal system. He was later promoted to Assistant Chief and Fire Chief before joining the Newton Fire Dept in 1881. WB was named Superintendent of the Fire Alarm System and later became Fire Chief when his boss, Henry Bixby, died in 1894.
WB served as Chief for 30 years. He died in March 1924 as a result of inhaling amonia gas at a 2 alarm fire at the Newton Club. Flags across Newton were flown at half mast and the Mayor attended his funeral. WB’s son, Clarence, later became Fire Chief of Newton.
RandlettPark.com 
To add to everyone’s knowledge: I believe the houses on the south side of Randlett Park (even #s) were built around the time that WB Randlett died. The street must have been created about then and the city needed a name for it. The golf course extended to what is now Randlett Park. The houses on the north side of Randlett Park (odd #s) were all built when the golf course was condensed from an 18 hole golf course to a 9 hold golf course (around 1935). That is why there are names of Fairway Drive and Bunker Lane on streets north and east of Randlett Park. It would be interesting to see old maps indicated this. It was told to me by Stephen Pauler who was a realtor and lived across the street from me at 90 Randlett Park. His mother and grandmother both lived on the street and his two aunts lived on Randlett Park as well.
Thanks, Linda!
Maps … looks like Randlett and Fairway were private roads as early as the 1880s that served an estate that was located to the west of Bunker Lane. Could be a golf course on north of Watertown St., mostly south of Eliot, and maybe winding up to Waltham St., not sure…
http://maps.bpl.org/id/10128 (top right corner)
http://maps.bpl.org/id/12870
http://maps.bpl.org/id/12880
Good find, Doug. Hope you’re doing well.
I lived on Randlett Park from ’72 to ’78 (#103). I later lived in Olympia, where I knew a woman named Randlette. It turns out she is a relative of the fire chief–she knew about Randlett Park being named after him. I also knew the Paulers. My mom worked for their real estate company, Broderick Brothers Real Estate on Commonwealth Avenue.