The body of Fred W. Goodson, a former battalion chief for the , was found near his Kirkwood home on Thursday, according to media reports.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported early Thursday evening that he had died of an apparent self-inflicted wound; the newspaper quoted a news release from the Kirkwood police.
Goodson was fired by the Monarch board on Nov. 22, shortly after an appeals court upheld a ruling against the district awarding , claiming district leadership had allowed a hostile work environment to pervade the department. .
Fox 2 News reported Thursday night that Goodson had started with Monarch in 1975.
His body was found mid-Thursday morning by Kirkwood police and firefighters in a wooded area in the 2000 block of Meadowtree Lane.
The Post-Dispatch reported that Robin Harris, the only one of the three Monarch board members to oppose the firings, called the action "destruction of a career firefighter's life...without due process."
