The village of Lexington announced the swearing in of a new fire chief this past Friday, October 3.
Fred Golda, the newly appointed Fire Chief, retired from Sterling Heights Fire Department in 2008 after serving for almost 20 years, earning the Fire Chief’s Award four times and being promoted to the role of fire inspector in 2005.
The appointment was made following the September 16th resignation of former chief Keefe Radtke, who claims he was pushed out of the role after the village “repeatedly ignored the urgent needs of the fire department, operated behind closed doors and disregarded established policies and procedures.” He also alleged that the village “failed to secure critical township contracts, undermined the chain of command, and refused to address slanderous, false accusations against” the chief and department members, despite Radtke providing proof against the accusations.
Though the village confirmed that they did ask for Radtke’s resignation, leadership claims it was due to the “department lack[ing] cohesiveness.” While the council’s statement does not address Radtke’s allegations, the village statement shared that the village intended to work with the fire department staff to obtain a recommendation for a new chief, as the council usually appoints the role, and not the department.
Golda will be taking over from Assistant Fire Chief James Johnson, who stepped in during the September interim.
