Springfield Township fire chief steps down due to health
ONTARIO ― Springfield Township fire Chief Matt Carey has stepped down, effective Tuesday, citing his health.
In 2019, Carey came to the job from Monroe Township Fire Department in Clermont County near Cincinnati where he had worked the past 12 years.
In a letter dated Jan. 6 and posted on social media Tuesday, Carey said, "After thinking, praying, careful consideration and thoughtful discussions with family, mentors, medical staff, legal experts and Ohio Police and Fire, I am writing to inform you of my retirement, effective Jan. 10, 2023," he said. "This comes much sooner than I ever anticipated. I am grieving the end of a career and livelihood to which I literally gave my heart."
Later in his correspondence, he wrote, "Unfortunately, my health prevents me from being the chief you deserve...."
Tuesday, Assistant Springfield Township fire Chief Adam Spellman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Springfield Township Trustee Amy Cairns said Tuesday that trustees are attempting to schedule a meeting to name an interim chief soon while abiding by the rule requiring 24-hour notice to make the meeting public.
Tuesday, employees at the fire department said not everyone had received the letter about the chief's retirement.
Carey, who has not been in the fire department for a long time, Tuesday at 1:30 a.m. was at the fire department on Lexington-Springmill Road removing his personnel belongings accompanied by his children, sources said.
In joining the department June 1, 2019, the new chief said he wanted to be closer to his family, who reside in Mount Gilead, and be near to his hometown of Mount Gilead, where he grew up.
He had 17 years of experience as a firefighter, working near Cincinnati and for the City of Worthington and for the City of Franklin in Warren County.
Carey's time at the Springfield Township Fire Department has been tumultuous at times.
During Carey's reign as chief, the News Journal reported that Springfield Township firefighters had been shut out of a board of trustees meeting, an investigation found that friction within the fire department can be attributed to staffing issues, the leadership style of Carey, and a rift between him and a former assistant chief.
There has been a large turnover in the department since Carey became chief.
The chairman of Springfield Township's board of trustees shut down public comment during the June 2021 meeting, preventing members of the fire department from speaking.
Jon Brown, secretary and treasurer of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 3849, had planned to read aloud a letter, signed by two dozen members of the Springfield Township Fire Department, that expressed concern with the township's leadership and Chief Carey, the News Journal earlier reported.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
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Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Matthew Carey, 37, joined the department on June 1, 2019.
