Fire Chief Mike Owenby of the Warrenton Fire Protection District has been placed on administrative leave, multiple sources with the fire district have confirmed to The Record.Little information has been made available to the public about the decision to suspend Owenby, who has been with the fire district for almost 20 years.Fire District Board of Directors President Donald Owenby said he could not comment on board decisions related to personnel matters. He declined to provide the date that the board decided to put the fire chief on leave. Donald Owenby is the brother of Mike Owenby.Jim Sharp, another board member, also said he could not discuss why Chief Owenby had been placed on leave, but said that the services of the fire district would not be affected.“We are a fully functioning district, as we always have been and will continue to be,” Sharp said. “There has been no diminishing whatsoever of our response capability or service footprint.”The fire district board of directors meets on the third Tuesday of each month. The next meeting is 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at the fire district’s Station 1, 606 Fairgrounds Road.Warrenton Fire Capt. Matt Dabbs, who is the shop steward for the 6th District of the local firefighters union, said on Monday, Feb. 11, that Chief Owenby went on leave about two weeks prior. Dabbs said he does not know how Owenby was given notice.“(Owenby) said he was going on leave pending an investigation,” Dabbs said. He added the suspension was not related to any conflict between the union and fire district administrators, and that little else is known about the decision.“Everything has been in closed session,” Dabbs said. “We have a board meeting coming up. I’m hoping we’ll get more information.”Dabbs reinforced that the work of the fire district will not be impaired during Owenby’s absence. Firefighters are focused on their jobs, and he said “morale is fantastic.”“We’re still going to deliver the same quality service we’ve always delivered. We’ll still do whatever it takes to be the best we can be, the public can be sure of that,” Dabbs commented.Owenby’s future with the district is unknown. While the chief is on leave, Fire Capt. Tony Hayeslip is the senior officer, district officials said.Hayeslip directed all questions to the board of directors. Chief Owenby himself also declined to comment for this story because it involves a personnel issue.Warrenton Fire Protection District logo