LIVERPOOL TWP., Ohio - The Liverpool Township Board of Trustees is discussing the possibility of filing charges against the township's former fire chief.

According to a legal document provided to 21 News by the Board of Trustees, the board appointed a law firm to investigate whether or not grounds existed to file charges against former fire chief David Ward for alleged violations of the department's rules, standards, regulations and procedures.

Specifically, the board is accusing Ward of misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, misconduct in office and gross neglect of duty.

The document alleges that Ward engaged in a "poorly-timed argument" with Assistant Fire Chief Jacob Russell in August of 2025 during a mutual aid call in Wellsville.

According to the document, Ward had berated Russell because of a forgotten radio, eventually removing him from the scene after at least one heated exchange.

Specifically, an email to an assistant prosecutor at the Columbiana County Prosecutor's Office alleges that Ward exchanged words with Russell and told him to go back to the fire station. 

The email goes on to say another firefighter confronted Ward to tell him he was "out of line," which allegedly prompted Ward to tell him to go back to the station as well.

According to the email, the two firefighters met with trustees who told them they were quitting the fire department and that they would not be back if Ward was chief.

The email then alleges that Ward resigned as fire chief, but not to the trustees. According to the email, Ward had sent texts to firefighters indicating that he was stepping down and returning his keys and gear to the fire station, as well as the pickup truck he drove.

Trustees say they found out about this via the assistant chief at the Dixonville Liverpool Township fire station and contacted the two firefighters and convinced them to return since Ward had resigned.

The email alleges that Ward contacted the trustees the next day and said he was not resigning and asked who was "dragging his name through the mud."

"I told him since [he] turned in [his] keys and gear, it appears that [he] resigned [and] that he needs to stay away from the station. ... He asked me if I was suspending him, and I said 'how could I suspend you when you resigned,'" Trustee Dennis Giambroni said in the email.

The Board of Trustees has called for a hearing Tuesday, September 30 regarding this matter.