Fire district fire chief placed on paid administrative leave
By Wyatt Williams
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ROTHSCHILD, Wisconsin (WAOW) — A Central Wisconsin fire chief is under investigation for alleged child enticement.
Riverside Fire District’s Fire Chief Rob Bowen will remain on paid leave for the time being
Bowen currently sits in the Marathon County Jail after police arrested him on Tuesday, and a criminal complaint has yet to be filed.
Rothschild village administrator, Ryan VanDeWalle says to his knowledge, the crime Bowen is accused of happened during his personal time, not while on the clock for the village.
The fire board met Wednesday morning and ultimately decided to place Bowen on paid leave.
VanDeWalle said, “They’re just accusations right now, you know, just kind of following the correct procedures and steps. There’s a lot to be unfolded yet, the investigation has just begun so, I think in the coming weeks, and potentially even months I think a lot more will unfold, but right now you know, paid administrative leave and we’re just hoping for the best for everybody.”
He added that the Fire and EMS services at riverside will continue as usual.
VanDeWalle continued, “Just making sure that again the day to day operations are in check and making sure that we keep responding to fire calls and EMS and that’s not going to change, everything that’s been happening is going to continue to move on.”
There is no timeline as of now for when the village or fire district hopes to have a solution.
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