A Dickinson County community was nearly left without fire service Tuesday after the entire fire department was ready to walk off the job following the abrupt termination of the fire chief.

Dickinson County officials tell KSAL News that Herington Fire Chief Ken Staatz was fired on Tuesday following a dispute unrelated to his fire services job. Staatz helps the City of Herington in other roles as well.

Following his termination, most of the  Herington Fire Department, consisting of two full-time employees and about 30 volunteer firefighters, showed up at the Herington City Commission meeting ready to resign in support of Staatz. They were among a large crowd of citizens at the meeting.

The five-person Herington City Commission met in executive session for several hours Tuesday evening to discuss the issue, as the packed gallery waited. The commission ultimately reinstated Staatz’s fire chief duties.

Herington is a community of about 2,500, located in Eastern Dickinson County near the Morris County line.

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