PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ (CBS5) -
The city of Prescott has named Division Chief Eric Kriwer as acting fire chief.
Prescott spokesman Pete Wertheim made the announcement Friday, saying Kriwer will begin his new role immediately and hold the spot until the recruitment and selection process are complete.
On Monday, Wertheim released a statement saying Dan Fraijo notified the city on Friday that his last day would be Nov. 15 after serving about nine months as Prescott's fire chief.
Wertheim said Fraijo was not asked to resign.
City Manager Craig McConnell told the The Daily Courier in Prescott that Fraijo's decision was by mutual agreement, a claim Fraijo denied.
"Mutual? No," he told The Daily Courier. "There's an agreement that when I was hired that said, at any given time, either side could give 30 days' notice and I would leave or could leave."
"I can only assume, why (McConnell) said 'mutual.' I can't tell you definitively why," he added.
Fraijo had served as Prescott's interim chief from May 2012 until his appointment by the city as chief in February 2013.
Fraijo was responsible for guiding the city's fire department during the fatal Yarnell Hill Wildfire that killed 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots on June 30.
"We appreciate Chief Fraijo's service to the City of Prescott and his dedication to the community," Wertheim said in the statement released Monday morning. "He provided leadership through many difficult challenges, most notably the aftermath of the Yarnell Hill Fire and loss of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. We wish him and his family the very best."
Fraijo started with the Phoenix Fire Department in the mid-1960s and worked his way through the ranks before going to Prescott in 2012.
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Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo's last day will be Nov. 15. (Source: CBS 5 News)
Eric Kriwer
Eric Kriwer
