‘The Town Remembers’: Firefighters Quit After Arsonist Suddenly Named ChiefSebastian Hughes
Contributor
December 24, 2021 11:29 AM ET
Ten firefighters resigned from an Illinois fire department after a man once convicted of arson was named the department’s acting chief, The Washington Post reported.
Jerame Simmons, the fire department’s assistant chief, replaced John Rosenkranz as chief on Monday without explanation, the Post reported. The department’s board of trustees reportedly said “a change in the Fire Department’s leadership is needed” in a statement after a meeting Monday.
Simmons pleaded guilty to arson in 1999 after setting the ceiling tiles in his high school’s basement and an abandoned house on fire, the Post reported. He was 18-years old at that time, and he was sentenced to four years of probation, though Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker later pardoned him, Fox 2 reported.
Eight of the volunteers who quit sent a letter to the board of trustees stating they were leaving their positions “with regret and sorrow.” There were thirteen total firefighters at the department, 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 department’s captain and the former chief’s wife, told the Post. She also submitted her resignation.
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https://dailycaller.com/2021/12/24/illinois-fire-department-arson-chief-pritzker-jerame-simmons/
