Salem Lakes Fire/Rescue’s Chief James Lejcar and fire Inspector/Marshall Steve Ptaszynski have resigned, the president of the village Fire Commission announced Monday.
Fire Commission President Allen Thennes said he received Ptaszynski’s resignation via Lejcar Sunday night. He then received Lejcar’s resignation Monday evening.
Thennes made the announcement during citizen’s comments at Monday’s Village Board meeting.
Thennes said the commission will be meeting soon on designating an interim chief. The Fire Commission, under state statutes, handles fire department hiring.
“We’re going to keep business as usual,” Thennes said of the commission.
Other area fire departments also have been notified of the situation, Thennes said.
For a replacement for Lejcar, the commission plans to look for a candidate from “outside the scope of the area,” Thennes said.
Lejcar had been chief since August of 2021. He had been assistant chief since 2019. Lejcar succeeded David Slover, who retired in 2021 after 19 years as chief of the Town of Salem Fire Department and its successors.
Lejcar and Ptaszynski had come under fire recently when two local businesses — Wilmot Stage Stop and Auto Truck Equipment — filed formal complaints about inspections they alleged were unreasonable and not in compliance with fire code and that constituted harassment of their businesses.
The complaints were scheduled to go through a formal hearing process before the Fire Commission in October, but those hearings were cancelled after a stipulation agreement designed to resolve the situation was drafted. The Fire Commission voted to approve the agreement, and an attorney for the businesses said they were on board but all parties did not sign off.
The Village Board was scheduled to discuss “investigation of personnel issues and claims involving the operation and functioning of the Fire Department” at a closed session at the end of Monday’s meeting, with possible action afterwards.
Salem Lakes Fire/Rescue serves all of Salem Lakes and Paddock Lake and a portion of Brighton.
UPDATE 7:41 p.m. — (Reported via livestream) After the closed session, village President Rita Bucur made a short announcement. The Fire Commission will meet Wednesday to discuss a path forward with department leadership.
“We will have no lapse in safety,” Bucur said.
The board is still waiting to receive the results of an investigation of department issues, Bucur said.
