5 Rockville Fire Department Officers Resign Leadership Positions

ROCKVILLE (WJON News) -- A number of the higher-ranking officers in the Rockville Fire Department have announced they are stepping down from those positions.

During Wednesday night's meeting, the fire chief Rodney Schaefer informed the city council that the Secretary, Training Officer, two Captains, the 2nd Assistant Chief, the 1st Assistant Chief, as well as himself were resigning from those roles. While they are stepping down from their leadership roles, most say they will remain active firefighters.

They all gave a 30-day notice before leaving their leadership roles.

While written letters of resignation were given to city officials, a formal reason why they were stepping down was not announced during the public meeting.

Mayor Duane Willenbring was taken aback by the announcement and wasn't sure how to proceed.  He called the move 'monumental' for the city.  He says the administration will need to contact the legal council to figure out the next steps moving forward.

Willenbring told Chief Schaefer, "The council is listening".

On Thursday afternoon, the city posted an official statement on its website.

The City of Rockville received notice at last night’s city council meeting that five officers of the Rockville fire department are resigning their officer positions effective January 12, 2024. The City did not have any advance notice of these resignations. The City will be conducting an immediate application process to replace these officers. The City will continue to provide high quality fire services to its service area. The City has been advised that all resigning officers will remain as members of the fire department.

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WJON News did reach out to the Mayor, City administrator, and the Fire Chief for further details.  We were directed to the city's website for its official statement at this time.

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