BOILING SPRING LAKES, N.C. — Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Chief Chris Grace Sr. received an email from the municipality’s board of directors Wednesday night while he was on vacation telling him he was fired.
“This came as a great shock,” Grace said. “The board president told me I had been relieved as fire chief and the fire department as a whole.”
Grace has been a member of the department since 2007 and has served as chief since 2011.
In the email to Grace, the board president wrote, “After a brief discussion, a second motion was made to relieve you of your duties as Chief of this department, effective immediately, which was also similarly approved.”
Although Grace is still unclear as to why he was terminated, he said that the board and department did not comply with bylaws regarding suspension and termination of department members.
After the Thursday vote to uphold Grace’s termination, the board will reconvene for a special meeting this Tuesday due to policy violation regarding the chief’s termination.
According to the board president, Robert Boyd, the board had first voted to suspend the bylaws before voting to terminate Grace.
“There is a way of doing it, depending on what office you are in, and it wasn’t followed correctly. We are now going to follow that correctly, and the result will be the same, but the procedure will be in line with everything,” Boyd said.
Until then, Grace’s termination will remain in effect.
Boyd said that the decision to terminate Grace was “so overwhelming it would be difficult to go against them.” There are 38 people on the fire department’s roster; but to Grace’s knowledge, only 24 people were present at the meeting.
“It’s a very hurting situation. I’m hurt. I’ve spent thousands of hours there. It’s time for a new chapter,” Grace told WECT6 when asked if he would return to the department if possible.
Below is the email Grace received notifying him of his termination:
“At the regular monthly meeting, chaired by Kyle Mulligan, Assistant Chief, in which some 24 members attended, a motion was made at the beginning of the meeting to “suspend the By-laws,” which was overwhelmingly approved. After a brief discussion, a second motion was made to relieve you of your duties as Chief of this department, effective immediately, which also was similarly approved.
You are requested to turn in any supplies, laptop computer, keys to the command vehicle, and any other accessories of the Chief, along with keys to the various offices, as soon as possible.
Your past service as Chief and member of this department was recognized, however this current action was deemed necessary by the membership.
Robert W. Boyd
President of the Board
Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Rescue”