Saturday, December 10, 2011
Tom Vineyard was declared as Monarch's new fire chief Saturday by a 2-1 vote among the district's three board of directors.
Tom Vineyard, chief of Mid-County Fire Protection District of St. Louis County, will replace current and retiring Chief Chip Biele for the Monarch Fire Protection District, per a 2-1 vote by Monarch's board of directors at a Saturday meeting at the district's headquarters in Chesterfield. Biele is set to retire Jan. 1. Information about Vineyard being a top candidate for the job circulated publicly via a self-proclaimed watchdog group, Monarch Concerned Taxpayers. (See related article from Nov. 8: Is Monarch Fire District Chief Replacement Chosen?) Monarch board of directors engaged the services of Clayton, MO-based Grant Cooper & Associates as their search firm to find a new chief. Board president Kim Evans moved to accept the employment…
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Tom Vineyard, Mid-County Fire Protection District chief, cited by citizens' group as frontrunner replacement for Monarch's retiring leader. Monarch board president said it is infuriating that potential search details may have been prematurely discussed.
Monarch Fire Protection District's search for a new fire chief turned up a top choice, according to a self-proclaimed watchdog group, Monarch Concerned Taxpayers. The group states on their website they are citizens and business owners within the district. Tom Vineyard, chief of Mid-County Fire Protection District of St. Louis County, was identified Friday by Concerned Taxpayers, in a blog on the group's website as Monarch's leading candidate to replace current and retiring Chief Chip Biele. Monarch Board President Kim Evans said the board of directors engaged the services of Grant Cooper & Associates as their search firm to ensure a professional and confidential process to find a new chief. "It disturbs me greatly to know that [Monarch] …
Friday, October 21, 2011
Monarch Fire Protection District's Clifford Biele counts down to last day at the helm. Monarch's House No. 2, at 18424 Wildhorse Creek Rd., services Wildwood residents.
While Fire Chief Chip Biele counts down the weeks until his Dec. 31 retirement, a look back to 1964 when he began volunteering with Monarch Fire Protection District shows how much West St. Louis County has changed. According to the district, there were only three firehouses five decades ago, and now there are five firehouses plus a separate headquarters office, and a separate maintenance/training center. Monarch, which is based in Chesterfield, expanded over the years to also answer calls in Wildwood, Ballwin, Clarkson Valley, Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights and portions of St. Louis County—for a total of 62 square miles and more than 60,000 residents. Where now there are 125 firefighting staff, back in the day there were only 12! By the …
