Cedar City Fire Chief injured during training exercise highlights dangers of job

CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Cedar City residents are coming together to help in the recovery of Fire Chief Mike Phillips after he suffered serious burn injuries during a multi-agency training exercise. And a neighboring fire chief says there are always inherent dangers that firefighters face, even in training.

In Dammeron Valley, fire crews regularly run through rescue scenarios, practicing how to pull people to safety during structure fires and extrications. The trainings themselves can be physically demanding and sometimes dangerous, but crews say they’re crucial to making sure they’re ready to respond.

Fire departments follow national safety guidelines, including what is called a “1403 Checklist”, to conduct live fire trainings safely. But even with those measures, injuries do happen.

“In our fire academy, we see multiple injuries every year,” Dammeron Valley Fire Chief Ryan D’Ambrosio said. “It happens just like it does on a real incident.”

Chief D’Ambrosio adds that these trainings are required. As crews complete these trainings, safety officers and backup teams stand ready to make sure that if something goes wrong, help is immediately available.

“When we do live fire, we have interior and exterior safety officers,” Chief D’Ambrosio says. “We always have backup lines of what’s called a rapid intervention team because something will always go wrong.”

Those extra layers of protection are crucial, but even with them, the job and the trainings carry risks. That’s why fire chiefs like D’Ambrosio say realism has to be balanced with safety.

“This job is inherently dangerous, and our trainings are inherently dangerous,” Chief D’Ambrosio adds. “We try to meet that curriculum as real as we could possibly get, so when they get on the job or they respond to a fire, they’re properly trained.”

Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips is facing eight to ten weeks of treatment at the University of Utah Hospital. To help his family through this time, a fundraiser will be held Monday, October 6 at the Diamond Z Arena. All proceeds will go directly to support the chief and his family.