‘The Town Remembers’: Firefighters Quit After Arsonist Suddenly Named Chief

Ten firefighters resigned from an Illinois hearth division after a person as soon as convicted of arson was named the division’s performing chief, The Washington Post reported.

Jerame Simmons, the hearth division’s assistant chief, changed John Rosenkranz as chief on Monday with out rationalization, the Post reported. The division’s board of trustees reportedly stated “a change in the Fire Department’s leadership is needed” in an announcement after a gathering Monday.

Simmons pleaded responsible to arson in 1999 after setting the ceiling tiles in his highschool’s basement and an deserted home on hearth, the Post reported. He was 18-years outdated at the moment, and he was sentenced to 4 years of probation, although Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker later pardoned him, Fox 2 reported.

Eight of the volunteers who stop despatched a letter to the board of trustees stating they had been leaving their positions “with regret and sorrow.” There had been 13 complete firefighters on the division, the Post reported.

“The town remembers the school being set on fire, the town remembers the house set on fire [where] we had firefighters fall and be injured,” Laura Rosenkranz, the division’s captain and the previous chief’s spouse, instructed the Post. She additionally submitted her resignation.

The mayor of the city Simmons grew up in was his father on the time of his sentencing, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 1999, in keeping with The Post. The former mayor is now the director of the county emergency administration company. (RELATED: Firefighter Arrested For Faking COVID Diagnosis, Spending Paid Leave On Vacation)

“These people feel like they have absolutely no other option,” the previous chief instructed the Post. He stated the board had held an “unusual” assembly in August the place Simmons was named the division’s performing assistant chief.

“It’s not important that I’m the chief or not the chief,” he stated. “It’s about … making sure everything’s taken care of.”

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