Boston Fire Commissioner To Step Down

Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser is stepping down as Mayor-elect Marty Walsh prepares to take office.

The Boston Globe reports Fraser submitted his resignation Monday to Mayor Thomas Menino. He will leave on Jan. 6, the day Walsh is sworn in.

Fraser said in a letter to Menino that he leaves a better department than the one he found when he was hired in 2006, and says it was time for him to do something different.

His departure leaves another high-ranking position open the city. Police Commissioner Ed Davis left in November for a fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Fire Chief Steve Abraira resigned in June, saying public criticism for the way he responded to the marathon bombings made it impossible to do his job.