South Beloit fire chief Scott Fisher resigns

Fisher submitted his resignation after 8 days as fire chief, citing his desire to pre-retire to Alaska.

Adam Neblock

Jan 14, 2026 — 2 min read

In his resignation letter, South Beloit fire chief Scott Fisher said that South Beloit's most important resource is its personnel.

Newly sworn-in South Beloit Fire Department Fire Chief Scott Fisher (not to be confused with freshly-retired South Beloit Superintendent Scott Fisher) tendered his resignation on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 to the city of South Beloit after 8 days as chief. Fisher's appointment as fire chief was announced in mid-December 2025. His swearing in ceremony was conducted at a South Beloit city council meeting on January 5, 2026.

In his resignation given to South Beloit mayor Tom Fitzgerald, city administrator Sonya Hoppes, and police and fire commissioner Ken Morse, Fisher said:

This decision was a very difficult one. I regret to inform you that I am resigning as the South Beloit Fire Chief effective immediately. This city and the fire department have much potential. I thank everyone who has been so kind to me in this short time. I wish you continued success in rebuilding the department. Personnel are your most important resource. Take care of them.

Life is too short, I have decided to spend more time working in and experiencing Alaska. I am going to call this pre-retirement.

Once again thank you for believing in me.

Sincerely,
Scott Fisher

At this time, city administrator Sonya Hoppes has shared via email that "we [the city] are sad his time was brief but certainly wish him well in his future endeavors."

This development will impact how the city of South Beloit continues to rebuild its fire department. The Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, the group hired by the city to identify potential fire chiefs, also published a fire study for the city in the spring of 2025. This study cited that the department trajectory under Fire Chief Daniel Pease of connecting six fire stations in the Town of Beloit, City of Beloit, and the City of South Beloit, should be continued after South Beloit outsourced the staffing of its fire department to the Town of Beloit in October 2024. In late October of 2025, shortly after the findings and recommendations of the IFCA report was released, Chief Pease retired from the Beloit Fire department.