Jim Thorpe Municipal Fire Department’s commissioner resigned without warning Thursday night, announcing his departure following his own six-month progress report to council.

“At the request of council and under personal duress due to a hostile work environment, I reluctantly resign as fire commissioner of the Jim Thorpe Fire Department effective immediately, and wish everyone good luck,” Charles Sgrillo said.

He offered no further explanation, and no council member asked for one publicly. Council voted later in the meeting to accept the resignation.

Sgrillo, a retired Philadelphia firefighter appointed unanimously to the newly created commissioner post in December, had just spent more than 10 minutes walking council through a series of changes he said reshaped the department in less than seven months; from its first live fire training burn to an unprecedented period of cooperation between the borough’s two historically rival fire companies.

“I did 34 years in Philly,” Sgrillo said. “I was proud of what I did there, and I was proud of the six months I put into trying to help bring this department together and train it to be better for the residents and for themselves and for the borough.”

The Jim Thorpe Municipal Fire Department was established in 2020, formally uniting Diligent Fire Company No. 3 on the west side and Onoko Fire and Rescue on the east side under borough authority. The relationship between the two companies and with borough council has been contentious at times since the department’s founding, and Sgrillo said his central mission was to bridge that divide.

“My office’s main goal was to bring the two sides together for the greater good,” he said. “I kind of compared it to the Miracle on Ice. They decided working together as a team with one goal in mind was way better.”

The joint training, he said, had been ongoing since January.

“We’ve done more training in the first six months than we’ve done since the Jim Thorpe Municipal Fire Department was formed,” Sgrillo said.

The department’s first live burn was conducted June 28.

Sgrillo also cited a new 50-plus-page training manual for recruits, an ongoing pilot program for the “I Am Responding” member dispatch tracking system, and updated standard operating procedures — which council separately approved Thursday night.

A grant application for approximately $75,000 in new gear for the Onoko station had been submitted, he said, and a grant writer with Federal Emergency Management Agency connections had identified several additional grants the department could pursue in 2027, after a federal government shutdown pushed back the 2026 cycle.

Sgrillo said plans were also underway for a fire prevention and smoke detector program in local schools, a recruitment pipeline through the area’s vocational-technical school, and a firefighter retention incentive program to be included in the 2027 budget. He also said he had designed a new department patch intended to let each company keep its own identity while signaling their shared membership in the municipal department.

Councilman Tom Chapman, who sits on the emergency services committee, called the departure unfortunate but said blame was not one-sided.

“I think Charlie really helped us for the six months he was here, and I’m certainly a little upset that we could not come to a better agreement,” Chapman said. “I think both sides tried, and it’s just unfortunate.”

Chapman added that Sgrillo had repeatedly offered to remain available as an informal adviser.

“He told us in many settings that if we ever needed advice, he’d still offer it to us because, as he mentioned, he’s had a long time in this industry and has a wealth of knowledge, so I’m hoping he honors that,” Chapman said. “It’ll be good for our community.”

No action was taken Thursday to name a replacement.