By Josh Bergeron
josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com

EAST SPENCER — Fire Chief Josh Smith says he resigned Saturday to create a more manageable work schedule for himself.

His resignation comes roughly one year and two months after he took the reins of the East Spencer Fire Department. Now, Shawn McBride, a Salisbury firefighter who previously served as the East Spencer chief, will take over the department, said interim Town Manager F.E. Isenhour.

Asked about his resignation, Smith said he thought about the matter for a long period of time before making the choice to resign. It wasn’t a snap decision.

“With my hectic, full-time work schedule, I felt it was best,” he said. “With my full-time job and being the chief, I was working seven days per week.”

Smith’s full-time job is an emergency dispatcher. He said the East Spencer fire chief position equates to a “full-time job with part-time pay.”

He said the job has been more involved that he expected when he became chief in the summer of 2016.

Isenhour declined to talk about the resignation at length because it’s a personnel matter. However, he said Smith wrote in his resignation letter that he was leaving because of a personal matter and that he was making the decision on his own, instead of being forced out. Isenhour also confirmed that McBride became the permanent East Spencer fire chief following Smith’s resignation.

The resignation comes just two months after the East Spencer Fire Department banded together to complete a station renovation. The total amount of money contributed by firefighters and others and in-kind donations was estimated to be $4,000. The most significant part of the renovation involved resurfacing the station’s floor.

Smith said he believes McBride will be a good chief and that the department will flourish under his leadership.

Contact associate editor Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246