Maines top fire marshal is retiring after complaints about offices workplace culture [Video]

The Maine fire marshal is retiring from his post next month after after a series of employee complaints about workplace culture surfaced when he was nominated to take over the agency in February 2023.

Richard McCarthy will step down on Aug. 30 to “pursue an opportunity that’s good for him and his family,” Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the department of public safety which oversees the fire marshal’s office, said in a statement Friday. McCarthy is retiring in “good standing” and has worked with the agency for 23 years, Sauschuck said.

In March 2023, McCarthy promised lawmakers he would address complaints as fire marshal and agreed to an investigation into the office, which was launched by a legislative committee through a confidential survey to office employees.

Lawmakers heard additional complaints from employees expressing concern about McCarthy’s nomination as fire marshal, because he had served in a position of leadership “amidst a workplace culture rife …