Richmond Hill Fire Chief Vernon Rushing was placed Friday on what city officials are terming “administrative leave with pay.”

“He is on administrative leave for 90 days,” Richmond Hill City Manager Chris Lovell said Monday. “He has not been terminated.”

Neither Lovell nor Richmond Hill Mayor Harold Fowler would say why Rushing was placed on leave. Capt. Andy Burriss will run the department in Rushing’s absence.

Rushing, a Richmond Hill native, has been with the department since 1968. He was appointed assistant fire chief in 1974 and fire chief in 1987. He became the city’s first full-time paid fire chief in 2002.

Check the June 26 edition of the News for more on this story.