Last week, an important figure in fire safety left us to continue to shape and re-shape our attitudes, practices, lessons, and how organizations address the dangers of fire. For those who aren’t familiar with Dr. Phillips, she was appointed President Nixon to the 1973 Commission on Fire Prevention and Control. Their monumental report America Burning presented the multiple threats of fire to our homes and communities, children and older adults, our resources and our country. It also gave the fire service what is today the US Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy.
I remember meeting Dr. Phillips once or twice, along with other members of the Commission, and, more distinctly, working for at least one or two of at the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (today’s USFA). As a young fire educator and training officer, I was humbled in their presence. The work that so many dedicated fire safety educators do today is based on the work that Dr. Phillips and those who preceded her did to teach basic fire safety practices to children and adults for years.
Read the brief story of her remarkable life and appreciate that we, fire safety advocates and educators and the public that we serve now and in the future, are better off for Dr. Phillips and the dedication and visions of people like her. – Jim Smalley
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