By Dave Statter
STATter911.org
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — STATter911.com has learned that Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Chief Lawrence Sedgwick Jr. is announcing his retirement from the department this morning. Sedgwick took over the department in November, 2004 and was confirmed by the Prince George’s County Council in March, 2005.
Sources tell STATter911.com that replacing Sedgwick as acting chief will be Eugene Jones who currently works in the Prince George’s County Office of Homeland Security under Public Safety and Homeland Security Director Vernon Herron. Jones retired from the fire department as a major.
Chief Sedgwick has been with the department for almost 27-years. He was hired in July, 1982 and spent a number of years as a fire investigator.
Sedgwick’s tenure as chief has been marked by a series of battles with the county’s volunteer fire departments. Many of the complaints from the volunteers have been about funding, but Chief Sedgwick’s confrontations over operational issues have received more publicity. This included a number of incidents with the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department. At one point Chief Sedgwick confined Kentland to it home turf due to the volunteer’s refusal to run an ambulance from its station.
No replacement for Chief Sedgwick has been announced.