Washington Fire Chief May Stay at Job

The fire chief in the town of Washington could wind up keeping his job after a tense meeting of the board that wants him out broke up because it lacked enough members on-hand to vote.

Fire Chief Mike Vaughn was given a statewide award for valor for his work during the November tornado that hit Washington. But last month the Fire Department board made clear it would not offer him a new contract over what some members called philosophical differences.

According to WCBU radio in nearby Peoria, one member of the board walked out of Tuesday’s meeting when the board tried to vote on a motion not to offer a contract.

Without the vote Vaughn’s contract is set to automatically renew at the end of July.