The Village of Buckeye Lake hired Refugee-Canyon Joint Fire District's captain as its new fire chief last week.
Ryan Wyse was sworn into office by Buckeye Lake Mayor Peggy Wells during a brief ceremony outside the Buckeye Lake Fire Department on Friday, alongside his daughters and other family.
"I knew that he was looking for a chiefs position and our current chief has been wanting to resign just because he felt bad that he didn't have the time to spend he thought he would have," Wells told The Advocate.
Wyse replaces Scott Hite, who has worked as the village's fire chief since the beginning of 2020. According to Wells, Refugee-Canyon Joint Fire District Chief Clifford Mason will rearrange the hours Wyse works at his department so he has time to spend at Buckeye Lake. Mason previously also served as Buckeye Lake's interim fire chief following the death of Pete Leindecker.