Topeka ? The state fire marshal resigned Tuesday, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ chief of staff said he was not civil enough with legislators.

Fire Marshal Joe Odle said “a couple of senators” complained about comments he made to legislators. He said he faced apologizing or resigning — and resigned.

However, Senate President Dave Kerr pointed to a recent legislative audit of the Fire Marshal’s Office. Kerr said legislators who reviewed the audit were not convinced Odle could fix the deficiencies cited.

Sebelius appointed Odle fire marshal in February 2003. Besides being a former firefighter and state fire inspector, Odle, 68, served eight years as mayor of his hometown of Basehor.

Sebelius named Jack Alexander, of Topeka, a former member of the Kansas Corporation Commission, as a temporary replacement.

The legislative audit, released in June, said the Fire Marshal’s Office was not doing all inspections of schools and health care facilities required by law. The audit also suggested the office administration was top-heavy.

In a written response, Odle disputed that the office was top-heavy but said it was working on improvements elsewhere. In an interview Tuesday, Odle said he didn’t see many problems with the audit but acknowledged recent answers during committee testimony led to complaints.

After a committee meeting last week in which Odle testified, a bipartisan group, including Kerr, sought a meeting with Sebelius.

On Tuesday, Joyce Allegrucci, Sebelius’ chief of staff, issued a statement: “While Joe Odle made several positive contributions during his tenure as state fire marshal, he didn’t live up to the governor’s expectation of civility in his dealings with legislators.”

Odle said he did not believe he should apologize to legislators because, “I just answered questions truthfully.”

But Kerr said Odle blamed problems in the Fire Marshal’s Office on his predecessors.