Firefighter's travel to Worcester...
Firefighter's from across the United States and as far as Toronto, Canada came out to Worcester to honor their fallen comrade Firefighter Jon Davies Sr, 43 of the Worcester Fire Department. The fire also injured his partner Firefighter Brian Carroll who barely escaped the building collapse after being trapped for an hour.
Without the ability to obtain and actual count, it is estimated that some 10,000 firefighters were in attendance including Chief Orangio, Watertown's Honor Guard and a contingent made up of Watertown, Waltham, Newton and Belmont.
It was amazing to see the number of people who came out in support both public safety and the public. Included in the funeral procession was a young Worcester native, 11-year old Jared Flanders who disobeyed his father's order to stay in after school. He put on a dress shirt, tied his own tie and snuck out. He rode his bike down to the wake because he wanted to 'pay his respects'. Worcester firefighters were so touched that asked them to join in the procession.
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FEMA Grants - New Radios for the Dept
$93,000 Grant to allow Fire Department to replace hand-held radios and equipment
February 29, 2012
By David Meagher
Watertown - Watertown Fire Department has recently won a grant for the sum of $93,000 to completely replace the hand-held radios and update the communication system which is located at the police station. Watertown was one of 5,000 departments nation-wide to be awarded money. The money will be combined with a matching contribution from the town of $9,300 (if approved by the Town Council).
New Federal Bandwidth requirements are slated to go into effect January 1, 2013. The current equipment cannot be retrofitted to be compliant. The grant will include approximately 30 radios in addition to the equipment to upgrade the police department system.
Union President Tom Thibaut stated "I appreciate and recognize Chief Orangio's hard work and all the research that he did in securing this grant for the department. Anytime a grant can be utilized is a great benefit."
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