Boston Fire Chief Steve Abraira resigned yesterday following growing criticism of how he handled April's Boston Marathon bombings.
In a letter to Mayor Thomas Menino and Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser, Abraira cited a "vocal and aggressive minority" for consistently resisting his efforts to reform the department since he was appointed - as the first Latino Chief - in 2011.
But it was a different letter that sealed Abraira's fate:
On April 26, numerous deputies wrote to Menino and complained that the chief gave up control of the investigation s to federal authorities. In part, this memo read:
"At a time when the City of Boston needed every first responder to take decisive action, Chief Abraira failed to get involved in operational decision-making or show any leadership."
Abraira was later referred to as a "ghost fire chief" at a City Council meeting.
The first chief hired outside the union, Abraira wrote that said Fraser's "selection of me as Chief never had the support of a number of members of the Department who preferred that the Chief be selected from within the ranks of the Department itself."
A spokesperson for the fire department responded to Abraira's resignation with a simple statement: "We thank the chief for his service to the people of Boston."
The Hollywood Gossip