Ridgefield Fire Department Chief Heather Burford, chief for the last seven years, accepted a "conditional offer," to become the fire chief of Seminole, Fl.
Burford said Seminole officials are now checking her references and confirming the details of her application.
"The time is right and the opportunity is great for me," said Burford, who described her time in Ridgefield as "wonderful." She said she is single and free to move to Florida, which she said ahead of Connecticut in modern firefighting. Burford said Seminole is part of a countywide regional dispatch program that involves police, fire and EMS dispatch that cover more than 1 million people.
Burford came to Ridgefield from Manchester, where she worked her way up from firefighter to firefighter/paramedic, lieutenant, battalion chief over 13 years. Before that she worked as a volunteer firefighter in Wilton for two years.
"We were working on regional dispatch four years ago, but it was only moving forward very slowly," Burford said.
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