Diamond volunteer firefighters petition to remove board members - KOAM TV 7

Diamond volunteer firefighters petition to remove board members

Volunteer firefighters in Diamond, Missouri petition against two members of the Fire Protection Board who decided to keep a volunteer who was accused of stealing.

There were originally three members on the board.  One of the board members was the father of a volunteer who allegedly stole five gallons gas.  The father resigned from the board and his son also since resigned as a volunteer firefighter.

Security camera footage caught the volunteer allegedly stealing the gas.

Now, two of the 15 volunteer firefighters are hitting the streets to get residents to sign a petition to get the other two board members, Joe Chaney and Bob Judd, to resign from their position.

According to the state's Fire Department Statutes a board member's seat can be called into question after filing a notice of their intention to start a recall petition against that member.

Chaney says his decision was a fair one.

"I said, 'hey, give him a chance, give him another chance and if he did it he'll pay for it, if he didn't then he's still running good,'" says Chaney.  "It was forgive and let him go ahead and stay because there wasn't enough proof, as far as I was concerned, to do that."

But volunteer firefighters like Shala Bass disagree and believe that Chaney and Judd have repeatedly condoned theft and misuse of the fire departments resources.

"We are trying to do what's right for our community and we love each and every one of the people who love in our fire district," says Bass.  "We love being welcomed into their homes and we don't want that to change just because of one person on the department and two people on the board."