West County Fire Issues Statement on Fire Chief's Demotion

The  released a statement Monday about the demotion of the department's fire chief but failed to provide any details about the change.

As previously reported by Patch, David Frazier's position . Patch readers can view the statement in full in the PDF portion of this article.

The fire department serves Manchester, Town & Country, as well as various parts of St. Louis County, including Ballwin, Des Peres and the Village of Twin Oaks

Patch's calls and emails to members of the West County EMS and Fire Protection District Board of Directors, including Chairman Richard Rognan, have not been returned.

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In Monday's statement, the fire district said that Frazier was reassigned "in an effort to better position him and the district for the future."

Frazier has not returned Patch's phone calls and emails for a comment on the position change. However, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that he did not know why his position was changed by the district's board members.

"We wish deputy chief Dave Frazier Jr. the very best in his new assignment," the fire district's news release states.

According to Monday's news release, the district is in the process of forming a hiring committee made up of neighboring fire chiefs and other safety officials and will be accepting applications to fill Frazier's former position as fire chief.

Patch has confirmed that Deputy chief Jeff Sadtler is now acting fire chief of the district as it searches for Frazier's replacement. Patch was able to speak with Sadtler who said he is unable to comment on the position changes other than what was stated in Monday's news release. He tells Patch that is standard procedure for personnel matters.

As previously reported by Patch,  Prior to that promotion, Sadtler had been with the district for five years. He came to the department from the Mehlville Fire Protection District where he worked as a paramedic for 10 years and had been a paramedic for a total of 18 years prior to the 2010 promotion.

The West County fire district serves a number of cities, including Town and Country, Manchester and nearby parts of unincorporated St. Louis County. 

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