Jeff Creed was appointed Interim Chief of the Chillicothe Fire Department, Sunday, after Chief Bruce Vaughan asked to be moved to the assistant chief position.

Vaughan said he had been considering the move for some time and the decision was not influenced by city officials: "It was personal; it's not a career move or anything like that; it's looking out for the citizens of Chillicothe and the firefighters, and I think it's a good decision."

Vaughan has served the city since 1973 and was chief for 16 of those years.

Last April, he was fired over a few incidents that occurred since 1996, including when firefighter oxygen bottles were not tested in a proper time frame; however, he appealed the termination and was reinstated by the Civil Service Commission in September.

"I did that to get my job back; I had to do that," he said, "and now that I've come back to work, and, it's for purely personal reasons, I've asked to be moved to the position of assistant fire chief."

Creed was appointed Interim Fire Chief until a promotional exam for fire chief can be given by the Civil Service Commission. He said the city should promote someone to the position within 90 days.