Portland Fire Chief Mike Myers submitted his resignation Thursday, the day after his new boss, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, was sworn into office.
Myers’ resignation comes amid his push to reimagine Portland Fire & Rescue from top to bottom, efforts that earned him respect and praise in City Hall. He left for a personal reason, to join his wife who has moved to the Oregon coast, he and Hardesty said.
The idea behind Myers’ “Blueprint For Success” was to equip the city’s 700 firefighters to respond effectively to health emergencies such as drug overdoses and mental health crises, given that such calls are much more common than summonses to put out fires.
Myers, 51, chose to leave to relocate to the beach town of Gearhart, where his wife lives, it said. He will begin a new job as the emergency manager for the city of Cannon Beach, 10 miles south of their coastal residence.