The Carroll County Fire Department is aware of the situation involving the misappropriation of funds by a former Cedar Grove Fire Chief. To be clear, these actions occurred prior to the transition to a countywide fire departmentby the Carroll County Commission in January 2025.
At that time, individual community fire departments operated independently and relied on local donations, with financial oversight handled at the station level by volunteer leadership. After the transition to a countywide fire department, concerns of possible fraudulent activity were brought to the attention of leadership. In response, our leadership team informed the Comptroller’s Office and have since cooperated fully in their investigation.
Since the establishment of the countywide fire department, all funding, purchasing, and grant activity has been centralized at the county level. Financial oversight is now provided by the Carroll County Finance Department, with all transactions subject to established county procedures, regular review, and auditing.
While situations such as this are unfortunate, the actions taken by the Carroll County Commission to implement a countywide fire department have significantly strengthened accountability and transparency.
The Carroll County Fire Department remains committed to responsible stewardship of resources and maintaining the trust of the citizens we serve. Moving forward, we will continue building on the improvements already in place while remaining focused on continuous improvement in how we serve our communities. Our commitment is to accountability, transparency, and providing dependable fire protection for every citizen in Carroll County.
Jonathan Gaskins
County Fire Chief
Carroll County Fire Department
