Outrage as Illinois town votes for convicted ARSONIST to be fire chief

Outrage as Illinois town votes for convicted ARSONIST who burned down houses and school to be its new fire chief

  • A convicted arsonist was voted as an Illinois town fire chief, and a group of firefighters quit on the spot in disgust after his election on Monday 
  • Ten of the department’s 13 firefighters quit, with one throwing his fireman’s equipment onto the board’s table in protest
  • The outrage came after Assistant Chief Jerame Simmons was named chief of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department in Saint Clair County 
  • The now 41-year-old fire chief was accused of setting fire to a vacant home and setting another, smaller fire, at Dupo High School back in 1999 at the age of 18 
  • He ultimately served four years of probation and was later pardoned by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker 
  • ‘All of our houses could burn down!’ one woman lashed out during Monday’s meeting. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’ a retired firefighter told the board
  • Eight of ten resignations submitted a letter to the board Monday announcing that they were leaving their positions ‘with regret and sorrow’ 

The election of a convicted arsonist as the fire chief of an Illinois town has led to the mass resignation of a group of firefighters and fury from the town’s residents

Ten of the department’s 13 firefighters quit Monday, with one throwing his fireman’s equipment onto the board’s table in protest, after Assistant Chief Jerame Simmons Sr. was elected chief of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department in Saint Clair County, according to Fox 2 Now.

Simmons, the son of long-time director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Herb Simmons, pleaded guilty to arson more than 20 years ago when he was just 18.  

‘All of our houses could burn down!’ one woman lashed out during Monday’s meeting after the ten firefighters quit. 

‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’ a man who identified himself as a retired firefighter told the board. 

The now 41-year-old fire chief was accused of setting fire to a vacant home and setting another, smaller fire, at Dupo High School in 1999.  

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One of ten fireman who quit in protest Monday in protest after Assistant Chief Jerame Simmons Sr. was named chief of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department

One of the volunteer firefighters throws his equipment onto the board’s table in outrage after a convicted arsonist was elected fire chief of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department


Former Fire Chief John Rosecranz, left, who was replaced from his post during Monday’s board meeting election, and Jerame Simmons Sr, right, who replaced Rosecranz

Simmons’ father was mayor of East Carondelet in Saint Clair County at the time of his son’s sentencing, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported at the time.

He was convicted but ultimately served just four years of probation before being recently pardoned by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, according to KTVI.

‘It’s a pardon. Still, the town remembers the school being set on fire,’ said former fire captain Laura Rosencranz, wife of the former chief, John Rosencranz. 

‘The town remembers the house set on fire where we had firefighters fall and be injured.’

‘I think it’s appalling and disgusting,’ said former chief Rosencranz. 

‘We’re not going to have the adequate protection here. It’s not going to be as it should be here. I’m kind of blindsided but not. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t expect it to be a couple of days before Christmas.’ 

While board members have hinted that the replacement was made with good reason, they have yet to disclose those reasons to the public. 

Rosencranz, who said he had served as the chief for about three years and had been with the department for 19, said the board did not give him a reason for his dismissal. 

Meanwhile, the chiefs of two neighboring fire departments, Cahokia and Dupo, said they supported Simmons and expressed full confidence in him as acting chief, Fox 2 Now reported. 

They added their departments would help fill any gaps left by the ten resignations that were tendered during Monday’s board meeting election.  

Eight of the ten firefighters who quit submitted resignation a letter to the board Monday announcing that  they were leaving their positions ‘with regret and sorrow.’

Simmons, pictured left, once convicted of arson, was was named the acting fire chief of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department in St. Clair County, Illinois on Monday

Pictured: Simmons seen on the job as a fireman prior to his election as fire chief

Pictured: a firefighter quits in protest after a man once convicted of arson was named the acting fire chief of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department in St. Clair County, Illinois

Pictured: Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department in St. Clair County, Illinois

‘These people feel like they have absolutely no other option,’ Rosenkranz said of the departed firefighters. 

In August, Rosenkranz said that the board held an ‘unusual’ meeting where they announced Simmons would be appointed the department’s acting assistant chief.

Rosenkranz said that he was not notified beforehand of the board’s decision, despite spending upwards of 40 hours a week at the fire station while working full-time as a teamster. 

Rosenkranz added that the safety of the community is now in greater peril with the loss of over half of the fire department’s volunteer staff. 

‘It’s not important that I’m the chief or not the chief,’ Rosenkranz said. 

‘It’s about … making sure everything’s taken care of.’

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