Chief Phillips honored at home and at the state level
Former Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Phillips (right) was recently inducted into the Texas EMS Hall of Honor. The chief is believed to be dead after being swept away while responding to a distress call during the Fourth of July weekend flood. His body was never recovered. Marble Falls Area VFD photo
Fallen Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Phillips was recently inducted into the Texas Emergency Services Hall of Honor, recognizing his ultimate sacrifice and service while responding to the Fourth of July weekend flood. A new Marble Falls fire station will also bear the chief’s name.
Phillips was posthumously awarded his place in the Hall of Honor during the Texas EMS Conference in Fort Worth Nov. 22-25. Placement in the hall is reserved for emergency services workers who have been killed while serving in the line of duty. Phillips is the 83rd honoree since the hall was created in 1981. The list also includes a special place for the EMS personnel who lost their lives while responding to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack in New York.
“(Phillips’ induction) is just amazing,” Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Captain Thomas Jacobs told DailyTrib.
Phillips’ name will be included on a plaque, alongside other Hall of Honor inductees, at the Texas Department of State Health Services headquarters, at 1100 W. 49th Street in Austin.
While still under construction, Marble Falls Area Fire Department Station #2 will also be dedicated in memoriam to Phillips. The new station, at 6423 CR 120 near the Fairland Road-CR 120 intersection, should be completed sometime in 2026.
Phillips was reportedly swept away by flood waters in the early morning hours of July 5 while responding to a distress call east of Marble Falls. It is believed that he and his vehicle were washed downstream when he attempted to cross turbulent waters on Cow Creek. His vehicle was found, but his body was never recovered.
The missing chief is one of six Burnet County victims of the flood.
Following his disappearance, Phillips was repeatedly honored by the Highland Lakes community. A moment of silence was held during the Marble Falls Rodeo, a park was named after the chief in a Cow Creek-area neighborhood, flags were lowered at government offices across Burnet County in his honor, and hundreds attended his memorial service at Marble Falls High School on July 29.
Phillips served with the Marble Falls Area VFD for about 30 years and worked for the Marble Falls Independent School District for over 20 years.
A recording from a 2012 interview with Phillips was played during his memorial service. A transcribed excerpt from that recording reads:
“Some people have money, some people have patience, some people have a lot of gifts, but my gift is that I like to work hard, and if something in that work can help somebody else pull through the worst day of their life, that is the reward I get out of that.”