MUSKEGON, Mich. — Muskegon Township Fire Chief Matt Ambrose has resigned sometime within the last two weeks, according to Deputy Supervisor Toby Fredericksen.
WATCH: Muskegon Township fire chief resigns, interim leader seeks funding to hire firefighters
Fredericksen said he was saddened and surprised by Chief Ambrose's resignation.
In a statement provided to FOX 17, Fredericksen said, in part, "...the Township is moving forward with the hiring process for a new Chief."
Interim Chief Butch Attig told FOX 17 he's looking to move the department forward.
“My job is to continue with the personnel that we have and the response that we have, and we are going to make that work,” Attig said.
While temporarily stepping into this new position as Interim Chief, Attig said his goal is to secure grant funding to hire more firefighters since the department's ask for additional funding wasn't approved by voters.
Only the millage renewal passed.
"Yes, we have to get our infrastructure up to where it needs to be for the next 20 years," Attig said. "Yes, do we feel that we could use more personnel? For sure."
Ideally, Attig said he'd like to fill three positions, which would total six firefighters per shift.
"We're hiring one right now," Attig said. "So one shift has four, the other two have five."
According to Interim Chief Attig, additional funding would also go toward repairing their buildings.
"Personnel are key, but we also have to think about the stations which we live in for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," Attig said. "We want to move forward as we've been doing. We want to be progressive. We want to keep training. We want to provide the best service we can for our citizens."
