Cascade ready to move past scandal, launches search for new fire chief

By Madison Bennett | MLive

Cascade Township is ready to move past the scandal surrounding its Fire Department as they search for a new fire chief to "lead" them out of it.

"Obviously there's an understanding in the community about what transpired in the Fire Department over the past year; we're really looking for someone that can lead us out of that," Township Manager Ben Swayze said.

In March 2017, Cascade Township Fire Chief John Sigg announced his retirement following two criminal cases filed against twoCascade firefighters. Sigg had been with the department for 29 years and became chief in 2001. 

The firefighters, Clem Bell, 51, and Steven Drake, 32, were sentenced June 22 to eight months in jail followed by six months of home arrest on tether and five years of probation.

The charges come after police say both men had a relationship with a 16-year-old girl when she was in the Fire Department's Explorer program. The program, now suspended, was intended to teach teens about the fire service.

Bell and Drake exchanged sexually explicit photos and videos with the teen over a period of months last fall, according to court records and the teen's statement, reported by MLive's John Tunison.

They were not charged with sexual assault because she was 16 at the time and instead, entered into plea agreements on charges of possession of child abusive material, using a computer in the commission of a crime and promoting child sexually abusive activity. Both must register as sex offenders.

"I wouldn't say morale is down but we want to get past this; our firefighters do a lot of great things in the community," Swayze said.

Township officials just completed a review of their job posting and plan to put it on their website and advertise it through typical trade sites, including the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan Township Association.

Swayze met with both the Township Board and the Fire Department to discuss what they are looking for in their next fire chief.

Following the meetings, Swayze, along with Cascade's human resources director and more firefighters from the department, got together to create the final advertisement.

The advertisement states that Cascade is seeking a "community-oriented, progressive Fire Chief interested in leading a dynamic 24/7 Fire Department operation in a growing and charismatic western Michigan community in the Grand Rapids area."

Some other qualities and requirements the township is looking for in a new fire chief include:

-Someone who can perform personnel management tasks for the Fire Department, including recruitment, hiring, training and discipline of all department personnel.

-Administrative work, including proposed operation budgets for the department and monitoring of said budget.

-Becoming a representative of the department to the public through community and media relations.

-Having the ability to lead the department and effectively empower employees and delegat responsibility appropriately.

-A minimum of eight years of firefighting and emergency response experience with a minimum of three years in an administrative command position.

The posting, which has been in the works for about two months, will go live within the next week or so, according to Swayze and will soon be available on www.cascadetwp.com. 

The position is currently filled on an interim basis by township firefighter Ron Rowland. 

This post originally appeared June 30, 2017 on MLive.com.