Over the past few days, a lot has happened involving the Pettis County Fire Protection District Board and the district’s fire fighters.
Not being on board with some actions taken by one of the board members, fire fighters staged a walkout and took a leave of absence on Tuesday, September 11. Two of the three board members met in emergency session on Wednesday and voted to appoint Keith Rowland as president, replacing Harold Ream, who did not attend the meeting.
Rowland says the beef was about Ream, who has been on the board a reported 40 years, not wanting to spend money to make purchases of needed items for the department. Rowland said the fire fighters only ask for necessary not frivolous things.

Rowland said fire fighters voted to come back on call after he was elected president during Wednesday’s emergency meeting. Rowland said Ream has been asked to resign, and Ream has said that he will resign if the Circuit Court will appoint his replacement. So what’s the plan for the board moving forward?

Rowland, who is in his seventh year on the three-member board, said the fire fighters have been asked to get a list of their needs together, and the board will work on making the purchases happen.
Rowland said five Pettis County fire fighters actually stayed on the job and responded to a gas tank fire right after the walkout, and the Sedalia Fire Department helped out as part of mutual-aid. He said there were two calls during what amounted to about a 24-hour walkout- neither was life-threatening.