Adams Area Fire District Chief Al Minjock is out as chief, but he will continue as a member of the department.

His resignation comes on the heels of an investigation by state officials of a controlled burn training exercise that was allegedly done without the permission of the state or Cranberry Township, where an abandoned building caught fire.

That fire on Oct. 26 was at 674 Mars-Crider Road in the building on property owned by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh in Cranberry Township.

Both the Adams Area and Cranberry fire companies had used the abandoned, two-story house for training exercises before Oct. 26.

Fire crews from Adams, Cranberry and Marshall townships responded to the blaze at the property, which was scheduled to be demolished to make room for the new North Catholic High School construction project.

State police fire marshal Brian Crouch confirmed last week that firefighters from Adams Area were previously on scene conducting training exercises that involved filling barrels with “straw, hay or pieces of wood” and that the resulting fire was caused by these actions.

Crouch also added that a second fire the next day appeared to be arson, but that the structure was so severely burnt and damaged that no determination could be made.

“It could have been a rekindle from the first fire, or somebody could have come back and set it,” Crouch said. “That’s a long time after the first fire for it to be a rekindle, but you never know.”

He also said that any fire department wanting to initiate a controlled burn for training purposes must get permission from the state and from the municipality where the fire is set.

Kevin Sunday, state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman, said no permit was issued for a controlled burn and that state officials are investigating the blaze.

“DEP is currently conducting an ongoing investigation into whether a training fire exercise occurred without the department’s approval,” Sunday said in an e-mail. “The department did not issue approval for any controlled burns at any site in Cranberry Township to occur on Oct. 26.”

According to Jeffrey Schueler, Cranberry director of public safety, neither Minjock nor the Adams fire company got any permit from Cranberry before the fire.

Schueler said he couldn’t discuss any details of the fire because it’s still under investigation by state officials, but added that it is an internal issue for the fire district to handle.

He also said that if DEP officials conclude any wrongdoing, they could issue fines or suggest criminal charges.

In an e-mail sent to fire district members five days after the fire, Minjock said he asked the board to replace him as chief and added that he was “profoundly sorry” for his actions and that the “use of this structure for this type of training was a profound lack of judgment on my part.”

Also in that e-mail, Minjock said he had resigned his instructor’s certification with the State Fire Commission and added that he felt he “lacked the necessary leadership to live up to the qualities that we look to achieve as a group.”

Starting Nov. 1, Minjock was placed on a 30-day suspension that ended Wednesday. The fire district’s board on Wednesday night accepted Minjock’s resignation and appointed former Assistant Chief Bill Hayes as the new chief.

According to board member Mark Reighard, who will be president starting in January, Minjock will remain as a firefighter with Adams Area.

Minjock did not return calls for comment.

In an interview Friday night, Reighard contended that Adams Area crews were indeed on site the night of the fire, but that they left around 10:30 p.m. He added that the fire call didn’t come in until 1 a.m., several hours after crews had left the scene.

Reighard also said it was his understanding that several of the barrels used during the training exercise had been moved or tampered with and that the fire had started in a different section of the abandoned house than the crew had been training in.

Regardless, he said that permits for the controlled burn had been issued at one point, but added that they may have expired by the time the fire took place.

In addition, Reighard said Minjock “lived, breathed and slept” for the fire service and that maybe his only downfall was his “passion” for making sure all the firefighters in his control were safe and trained properly.

“All he was doing was making sure his people were trained and that everyone would come home safe from the next call,” he said. “Were all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed (regarding the permits)? No.”

The Adams company operates out of two fire stations in Mars and in Valencia and a substation in Seven Fields.

The district provides fire protection to Adams Township and Richland Township in Allegheny County and Mars, Seven Fields, and Valencia.