With less than a week on the job, Sparks' brand new fire chief was asked to step down on Monday pending criminal charges.

Mark Lawson was named fire chief at the end of November replacing Jim Reid.

In a video that was distributed to the fire department on Monday morning, city manager Neil Krutz said the city learned late last week of serious criminal charges were about to be filed against Lawson. Krutz said after the city did its due diligence to verify the information, they did find it to be true.

Krutz met with Lawson on December 5 and asked him to step down immediately. Krutz said in the video, "I know this comes as a shock to all of you. I was incredibly excited to bring Chief Lawson on board..." The city manager added due to the severity of the charges coming down, he felt it was appropriate to part ways effective immediately.

Lawson came to Sparks after serving more than three decades in the industry most recently with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Sparks City Council agreed on a contract that ran through June 30, 2024 with an annual salary of $200,000.

Krutz rounded out his video saying it was unsettling and something he never imagined doing in his career. The city will take some time to figure out how to move forward with a replacement.

It is unclear what charges Lawson is expected to face.