New Details on West County Fire Chief Demotion

The now Acting Fire Chief, Deputy Chief Jeff Sadtler, told aldermen and the city's mayor that he can't talk much on the issue citing it being a personnel issue, but he did say that .

"Chief Frazier has been reappointed to a new role as deputy chief of logistics. The position is evolving," Sadtler said Monday night. "We appeciate your patience while we reinvent and reengineer."

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Sadtler said the chief vacancy has been posted and a national and local search is underway to fill the position.

"We are committed to the relationship, but we have a lot to learn," Town and Country Mayor Jon Dalton said in response to Sadtler's statements Monday evening.

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Sadlter tells Patch the fire district board voted on Frazier's position change on June 18 and the vacancy will not affect fire and ambulance services.

Monday evening's comments came after the  released a statement earlier in the day. Patch readers can view the statement in full in the PDF portion of this article.

In the news release, 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.

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.

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 to accept applications to fill Frazier's former position as fire chief. 

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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