Fort Myers Beach fire chief announces resignation after more than two decades locally
One of the longest tenured fire chiefs in Southwest Florida announced his resignation Friday.
Fort Myers Beach Fire announced Chief Ronald Martin's resignation in a memo Friday afternoon.
"After many years of public service, Fire Chief Ronald Martin submitted a letter of resignation effective today," the memo reads. "Chief Martin cited personal reasons for his resignation."
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Martin had served in fire and emergency medical services since 1992.
"Chief Martin’s governing philosophy is to engage citizen partners in being active participants in their own safety initiatives," his staff page reads. "Chief Martin also believes that any Fire or Medical Emergency the District can mitigate, is the one that never occurs."
Fort Myers Beach Fire announced that District Chief Scott Wirth will serve as acting fire chief.
In a statement Friday evening, Wirth wrote that for nearly 20 years, Martin served the community with caring, professional service.
"Chief Martin started as a firefighter and moved through the ranks to fire chief where he led the department through, arguably, the worst natural disaster in Lee County’s history," Wirth wrote.
Wirth said Martin helped the Fire District progress.
"I want to thank Chief Martin for his service to the citizens and for his leadership as fire chief," Wirth wrote.
The News-Press could not immediately reach Martin for comment before publication.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Beach Fire Chief Ronald Martin resigns for personal reasons
