Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • February 1, 2012 Ridgewood Village firefighter wins $3.5 million in Superior Court by John Koster A Superior Court jury in Hackensack has awarded $3.5 million to Ridgewood firefighter Kevin Reilly, who claimed he was passed over for a promotion he felt he merited because he reported a former fire chief and former deputy fire chief for safety violations. The 6-0 verdict gave Reilly the entire amount he requested. His attorney, Christine Lilore, reportedly said she was pleased with the verdict, but declined further comment. Christopher Botta, an attorney who handled the case for Ridgewood through the Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund, said the Village would consider its options for an appeal. An informed source claimed that the promotion Reilly had sought was given to a more qualified candidate. Reilly’s case, which originated in 2007 and 2009, was based on two incidents that took place under a former fire chief and former village manager. Reilly charged that, in 2007, he and his fellow firefighters had responded to a complaint of an unknown material leaking at Valley Hospital. Reilly said he believed the fire chief who was then serving the department should have called in hazardous material specialists to clean up the mess, but instead ordered the firefighters to clean it. Reilly said he believed his report to the chief and the deputy chief interfered with what he saw as a warranted promotion to fire lieutenant about a year later. Reilly also said that, in a January 2009 incident, he responded to a house fire on Woodside Street and the deputy chief sent him into the fire even though his air supply was low. The low air alarm reportedly went off while Reilly was inside the building. Reilly said the former deputy chief ordered him to leave the building when the air alarm went off, but took his flashlight and radio, leaving him without safety equipment while he was inside the building. Colorful crew Mardi Gras was the theme of this year’s Mother/Daughter Girl Scout Dance at Ridgewood’s Ridge School. Girls in grades one through five enjoyed an evening of dancing, dressing up, mask making, and other activities.