Battle Creek fire chief out, police chief to serve in interim

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — Battle Creek Police Chief Shannon Bagley will now be the interim chief for the city’s fire department, the office of the city manager announced.

The change comes on the same day that former Fire Chief Bill Beaty and the city made the separation official, said Beaty in a phone call to News 8.

An Air Force veteran, Beaty came into the fire chief role in October 2022. He was previously a deputy chief in Divernon, Illinois. His career stretches back to 1987.

City leaders say the change follows a department review that found leadership was “necessary to better align with the city’s performance goals and objectives.”

City Manager Rebecca Fleury thanked Beaty for his service to the city and department. She said the change could be a new chapter for the department as well.

“I’m confident this change will lead to new opportunities for growth and professional development within the department,” Fleury said in a statement.

Fleury is expected to retire later this fall.

In a phone call, Beaty said he had talks with city officials recently about the change. He said his departure is mutual. While he was expected to be part of the a workshop session for new fire station proposals, Beaty said he wanted the project to start with a fresh slate of city officials.

In recent months, Beaty has been pressing for fire station upgrades . Some of those proposals brought up earlier this year including a new station and merging crews between Station 1 and Station 3.

As for what’s next, he said he has not made any plans for the next chapter just yet.

The Tuesday workshop meeting on the fire station proposal is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Battle Creek City Hall.

The department has 82 employees who handle more than 9,000 calls every year. Police Chief Shannon Bagley said the change will not impact emergency services.

“Our city has an incredible team of firefighters, including five highly capable battalion chiefs who I will continue to entrust with leading daily fire operations,” Bagley said in a statement.

The city’s communication manager said the process for finding another fire chief will be on hold until a new city manager is in office.

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