Orrington’s Fire Chief Fired

Orrington's fire chief, Mike Spencer, has been fired by the town after spending a week on paid administrative leave.

According to the BDN, Town Manager Paul White confirmed that Spencer was fired on Wednesday. White declined to tell the paper why Spencer was let go and what the town plans to do next with the department's leadership.

It's the second time Spencer had been placed on leave. The first time was in the spring of 2013 when he had a dispute with town officials over a failure to record sick days and the fact that he allowed off-duty personnel to hang around the fire station. In addition, officials said he'd taken a company vehicle to his other job at R.H. Foster. Spencer told city officials that he used the station vehicle so he'd be prepared if he got called out to a fire.

There's no word on what prompted the latest administrative leave or why the decision was made to terminate his employment. Spencer was elected fire chief in 2004.