George DeShields
After being asked recently by Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman to resign, Fire Chief George DeShields resigned on Monday morning.
In a letter on the Manchester Fire Department Facebook page on Monday signed by DeShields it says; Today, I submitted my resignation, as the Fire Chief for Manchester. Mayor Norman has accepted. I did this after much thought, prayer, reflection and consultation with my family. I did not resign because of work performance issues. To date my personnel file is clean. I submitted my resignation for my family. We no longer choose to live under a microscope of scrutiny. We live by faith and by the principle if one door closes the next will open.
I admit and own the mistake that is personal in nature. A mistake that never impacted my ability to carry out my duties/responsibilities, as your Fire Chief.
DeShields went on to write, I’d like to apologize to the Manchester Fire Department employees, their families, Mayor Norman, Alderman French, Kilgore, and Sain and to the citizens of Manchester for my personal short-coming that has put us in this position. My family will remain active in this community and continue to do all we know, and that is to help others and do it with a #ManchesterStrong attitude.
Thank you to everyone who have prayed for us, offered words of encouragement, and supported us both professionally and personally.
Mayor Norman said that the department captains will conduct the day-to-day operations of the department until a replacement is named. Captains are Roger Chambers, Casey Wright and Gary Gessell.
