There used to be a lot more fire departments in south Snohomish County. Ed Widdis always believed that fewer departments would mean fewer chiefs, fewer political boundaries and better service for the public. He spent decades working toward that sometimes-controversial goal. Widdis, 59, retired recently from Snohomish County Fire District 1.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2016 1:57:16 AM - SOURCE: Everett Herald

The city of Boston is using data and digital technology to improve firefighting and other vital services, according to a report from the Harvard Kennedy School released on Monday. The 12-page brief from the Rappaport Institute at the Kennedy School is entitled “City Hall’s Data and Technology Journey: Using Data to Improve the Lives of Citizens.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: boston globe - metered site

A Cheney firefighter remains in critical condition at Saint Francis Hospital Monday night, after collapsing while fighting a grass fire near the Kingman-Sedgwick County line. The fire department is asking for your support - for now, just in prayers. The firefighter's name isn't being released at the moment, since he's still in very critical condition.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KWCH-TV CBS 12 Wichita

While Union County authorities have charged Newark fire Capt. Anthony Graves with impersonating a police officer, Newark officials are calling on a judge to throw out his whistleblower lawsuit against the city and various municipal officials. In a motion filed in Essex County to dismiss the complaint, the city rejects Graves's allegations of racial discrimination and asserts Graves has failed to allege an act of retaliation to support a whistleblower claim under the state's Conscientious Employee Protection Act, or CEPA.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Newark Star-Ledger/NJ.com

The widow of an FDNY lieutenant has scored an estimated $3 million payday after a judge ruled that “shocking and unconscionable” actions by the city denied her his rightful pension. Jackie Kaht Fernandez spent nine years fighting the Fire Department’s pension board and its doctors to prove that the sudden death of her husband, Lt.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york post