Ex-Springfield chief pleads, fined $100

CANFIELD — Brian T. Hughes, the former Springfield Township fire chief, has pleaded no contest to a charge stemming from a 2005 barn fire.

Hughes was charged last year with a fourth-degree misdemeanor, accused of using the 911 system to report a non-existent emergency.

But on Wednesday, before Judge Scott D. Hunter of Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield, Hughes pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.

Judge Hunter found him guilty and ordered Hughes to pay a $100 fine plus court costs.

Hughes resigned as fire chief Feb. 13 after township trustees reduced his position from full- to part-time in January.

Beaver Township Police Chief Carl N. Frost, who investigated the allegations, has said Hughes ordered Springfield Township Fire Capt. Charles Gossard to tell a barn owner to make a fake 911 call for a controlled burn of a barn containing asbestos and tires April 25, 2005.

Permits are required for controlled burns, Frost said. No permit would have been issued for the barn, however, because of the asbestos and tires, Frost said.

After his hearing Wednesday, Hughes said he agreed to the plea agreement because, “After four years, its time to move on. I’m moving on to bigger and better things.”

Hughes said he could not afford to live on part-time wages. He declined to discuss his future employment plans.

Read more in Thursday’s Vindicator and at vindy.com