Firing of Gordonville fire chief riles some members of volunteer department

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been changed to reflect that Jay Snider works at Snider's Alignment Service, not owns it.

The dismissal of the Gordonville Volunteer Fire Protection District's chief last week touched off a small firestorm.

In the wake of the three-member fire department board's decision to terminate Randy Morris Jr., three other firefighters quit the force, about 20 firefighters threatened to resign and the board refused to meet with firefighters to discuss their grievances.

Board members Jeffery Sneathen and Collin McClanahan could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Board member Shawn Morris said last week he had been instructed by McClanahan not to discuss the decision and to refer all questions to the department's attorney, David Summers. Summers was unavailable Tuesday.

The board appointed Jay Snider as the interim fire chief. Snider, who works at Snider's Alignment Service, injured himself at work Monday and was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Board members have not disclosed the cause for the termination, but in a response to a public records request from the Southeast Missourian, district secretary Susan Koerber said McClanahan and Sneathen voted for the dismissal and Shawn Morris was opposed. Shawn Morris said he is not related to Randy Morris.

On Friday, Gordonville firefighters presented a letter to the board asking it to address their grievances. The letter said firefighters were disappointed in Randy Morris' dismissal and that Morris had advanced the department in firefighting and emergency medical services.

The department was nearing an improvement in its ISO (formerly the Insurance Services Office) rating, interim assistant chief Jerry Siemers said. The rating indicates how well departments can respond to structure fires. The lower the number, the better the rating. It is unlikely the department will now attain the new rating, he said.

The letter said Morris had increased safety and training and developed a department that is recognized by its professional peers.

The letter accuses the board of violating the Missouri Sunshine Law by naming a new chief outside a board meeting.

"At this time we have lost faith in the board and have found the board to be lacking in leadership capabilities and sound judgment," it said.

The letter said the board was possibly in violation of state statutes. It demanded Morris be reinstated and McClanahan and Sneathen resign within seven days or the firefighters would quit.

But Monday evening, after the board sent word through Koerber that it would not meet firefighters' demands, firefighters held a private meeting to discuss whether to resign.

"We had our informal firefighters' meeting and discussed what our course of actions are to be since the board thumbed their noses at us," Siemers said. "For the sake of the community, we are going to continue to serve. We are not going to play politics. If they want to play politics, we'll take them out at the ballot box come April."

Siemers said firefighters have no quarrel with Shawn Morris, who was elected to the board. However, he said McClanahan and Sneathen, who were both board appointees, have little regard for the improvements Randy Morris made.

The turmoil has not gone unnoticed by residents.

Linda Goodson, 72, said she heard about what was happening and called Siemers at home.

"I called and asked, 'Does that mean I don't have any fire protection?' He assured me I would have fire protection. Rural protection is very important," Goodson said. "I was just scared. I want to feel confident that I've got a good fire department."

Goodson said that the older people get, the more they think about their safety. She has a neighbor who is 89 and worries that if the first-responder program is ended, emergency medical care might take longer to reach her.

"Gordonville is my fire department," Goodson said.

Gordonville is also Diane Edwards' fire department. Her family lost its rural Cape Girardeau home to a fire June 1.

She praised Randy Morris for the efforts he and his staff made to save her property. While the roof over the home was in flames, firefighters stood inside and passed irreplaceable personal belongings out the windows to waiting family members.

"As far as the job they did and what Randy did -- I had no idea who this fellow was and he walked up right away and told us what he was doing," Edwards said. "He went through the list of questions with me, 'Do you have this in your home? Do you have this?' He just truly quarterbacked the situation."

Siemers said the community is "behind the firefighters 100 percent."

"We might have to deal with the board for nine months," Siemers said, "but you can be sure that there will be people on the ballot who are pro-fire department."

jgamm@semissourian.com

573-388-3635

Pertinent address:

711 Route Z, Gordonville, MO