The top two officials in the Pensacola Fire Department are out on administrative leave pending the results of an open investigation.
Fire Chief Matt Schmitt and Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Glover were placed on paid leave Tuesday.
Details of the investigation were scarce, with city spokesman Vernon Stewart only confirming it would be performed “by an outside organization.”
The decision to place Schmitt and Glover on leave came from “City Hall management,” according to Stewart. Fire Marshal David Allen has been named interim fire chief, effective immediately.
Chief Scmitt joined the Pensacola Fire Department in 1979 and was appointed as the city’s interim fire chief in 2010.
Reached Tuesday, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward said he could not comment on the investigation and did not know when more information might be available.