MASSIE TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- A Warren County township is without a fire department for the time being.
Former Fire Chief Scott Hines resigned Tuesday evening after the Massie Township Board of Trustees filed disciplinary charges against him.
“I had enough, and I resigned last night,” Hines said.
It wasn't the first time the board filed charges against him, Hines said.
Hines said he used the township's credit card to pay for firefighters’ meals after a day of work. He charged $101, and he is allowed to use up to $500 a month. The president of the trustees told him that was embezzlement because he didn't get it authorized, he said.
Hines said those charges were dropped, but he believes certain trustees were trying to push him out in order to create a joint fire district with Chester Township.
“We're all in this to save lives and to help people,” Hines said. “You're not going to have a script fire chief that knows everything by the book or goes by the book. You have to adapt to your conditions of your department, we're all volunteer."
Trustee Darrell McKinney acknowledged the township’s desire to create a joint fire district, but he said he was surprised Hines resigned.
Meanwhile, fire departments in Wayne Township and Chester Township will service Massie Township residents.
