The flag at the Springville Fire Station is at half mast. An SUV with the word "Chief" written on the back window sits alone in the parking lot. These are the sad reminders that Springville City has lost a great man. Phillip A. Whitney, passed away in his home last Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Although he was 72-years-old, "Fireman Phil" was still putting in 60 to 70 hours a week taking care of business at the fire station, and had been on a fire scene the night before his death. The Springville fire, ambulance and police departments knew that although his age was creeping into the seventies, it was his spirit and conviction that pushed him to continually work on improving public safety for his beloved city for over 24 years as Springville Fire Chief.

Whitney was related to Aaron Johnson who founded Springville in 1850. He grew up here, graduated from Springville High School in 1955, married Helen Parry of Mapleton in the Manti LDS Temple on Dec. 17, 1958, and continued to reside here. He was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had served in the bishopric in a singles ward. He loved spending time helping the youth. He was the

financial clerk in his ward for years and had just been asked to be his stake auditor.

Helen and Phil were the parents of five children: Bryce of St. George, Cheryl Hurley of New Brunswick, New Jersey; Brent of St. George, Christy of Portland, Oregon; and Chari Erickson of Springville. He was always proud of his family and talked to his fellow workers about them regularly.

Bryce, Brent and Chari, were gathered in the living room of the Whitney home on Saturday. "He was the kindest person you would ever meet." Bryce said.

Helen was raised in a family who fished and hunted, and although it was not Phil's favorite activity, the family would take trips to Lake Powell and Yellowstone. He showed how much he loved his family by taking them fishing and hunting. Being an expert marksman, his children wondered why their father never seemed to hit anything when they went deer hunting. Phil would take Helen fishing, but would not fish himself.

"I don't think he really liked to go fishing or hunting, but he did it because mom liked to. He would read his book," Bryce said.

"The biggest impact on me was when my mother suffered through lung cancer and he was always by her side. He was an amazing source of strength to the children and was always there for mom, "Bryce said.

The brothers shared stories about their father passing on his work ethic by reminding them to always take care of their possessions. Brent recalled a time when he returned from a hunting trip and left his gear in the garage. His father told him to put his camping stuff away and in the right spot. The brothers grinned as they said that their father was "always prepared for any emergency."

Chari laughed about getting a cut on her finger and her father would pull out his big EMS kit with everything in it for every little scratch.

Although Phil never earned his Eagle, there could never have been anyone more prepared. That was the kind of guy he was. He had a flashlight and pocketknife with him at all times. "He always had MRE's, so if anyone ever got stranded, or somebody was hungry, there was something to eat," Chari said. Her dad would put items in her car to make sure that she was always prepared.

"He could fix anything and take care of any injury, and see his way through any emergency. He was Mr. Prepared," added Brent.

Phil was constantly getting certified at something. He was always learning something, taking night classes, or reading a manual. He had just received his Hamm radio certification.

He could fix a snowmobile if it broke down; he had delivered a baby on the side of a road and was prepared for anything. Phil had been an EMT for such a long time and has numerous firefighter certifications, giving him massive medical knowledge.

He was also one of the most qualified in the state at determining the cause of fires. Because Phil was so well trained, the National Forest Service would take him on large wildland fires to run logistics for them.

Everything in his station was meticulously maintained. He saved the city tremendous amounts of money. "He spent a lot more time at fire station after mother died because we kids had our own lives," said Bryce. "He had a passion for service. He has done things for the city that no one else was qualified to do. He has certain licenses and training that will make it difficult for the city to run smoothly, and they are going to struggle a little to get some things done."

Phil purchased a silver Mustang, and he would drive it to Walmart every Saturday and occasionally to St. George to visit family. That was his one big splurge in life. He never felt like he needed to spend money on stuff; he took such good care of his things that they would last a long time. Phil was very conservative and wouldn't spend it unless he had it. He would save his money and then buy what he needed.

"He was brilliant. He was wise. He had an answer for everything, was a really good listener and he was great to have around if anything came up," said Bryce.

In 1977 Phil knew that he wanted to be on the fire department and although he failed the first two tests, which would discourage most volunteers to give up, he kept coming back until he passed the exams. In 1985 the city council decided they needed a full-time fire chief. The council interviewed every fire fighter and out of three people it was unanimous that Phil would be the first fire chief in Springville. In 1997 he was placed in charge of the Springville Ambulance also. He was doing what he loved up to the minute of his death.

Phil pursued the goal of getting a new fire and ambulance building, the new satellite station on 400 South, and was planning another satellite station on the west side of town. He knew that Springville was growing and made it his responsibility to have the stations to serve it. It was his personal job to make sure the residents were safe.

Springville Police Lieutenant Dave Caron said Phil was a volunteer with the fire department when he started work here, and Phil's wife, Helen, worked as a dispatcher for the Springville Police. Caron said, "Phil and Helen were some of the first people who took us in and were good friends"

"Through the years we have shared a lot. We remember how overjoyed they were when they were able to add another daughter to their family. His wife and kids and grand kids mean everything to him. That's just the way he was. The man had more energy than younger people. His hair was so white it would glow in the dark. He was always moving and laughing. He would come in here and give me a bad time about every day."

"His family, his fire family, his public safety family and the community were really important to him. When somebody is such an integral part of where you work and a good friend and part of your community, and then you lose that person, it leaves a huge void to fill, and that's where we are right now," said Caron.

Caron said that Phil was a people person, easy to work with and a lot of fun. "The Chief strived for excellence and professionalism and was constantly raising the bar and raising the standards for the fire department. When Phil took the reins of the department, their training equipment and maintenance improved. Phil would show up for fires, day or night. He was extremely dedicated. Every member of the fire department would look to him as their leader."

"To watch this department transform itself under his leadership was really neat to see. The working relationship and the closeness between the fire and police have improved. Many places in public safety, that's not the case. And we have always gotten along, I know the guys on the fire department, and they know me, and a lot of that was because of the leadership capabilities Phil had. There's never been any jealousy or ill will felt between the departments. I attribute the professionalism and the training and the expertise to Phil. He was always looking to do the best things for the city. He's going to be missed," Caron said.

Mayor Gene Mangum said that he admired Phil, and what he has done for Springville City. "Phil was a positive influence on others and would challenge people to do better, and to volunteer their services and work in dangerous and difficult conditions and be happy about it. Nearly all of the volunteer firefighters were personally trained by Phil and they bonded closely with their Chief. There is a big void in a lot of people's lives right now. He has created a legacy that going to be very difficult for us to fill."

Alan Robinson, David Cope and Alan Roylance, three retired firemen, reminisced about earlier times in the department and working with Phil. Robinson said that Phil brought the department up to date. In the beginning there were mostly volunteer firefighters and two, part-time firemen, so there was nobody really to do the administrative work. Cope said there was no formal training.

"When Phil was put in as chief he would do everything by the book so there would be no lawsuits filed against the city. He would also make sure that the firefighters would reach different levels to get certified and have a standard of operating procedures in compliance with the Utah statutes," said Cope.

Roylance said Phil would put in a 60-70 hour work week, and was on call at all times. "He may have retired if Helen had not passed away. They wanted to go on an LDS mission, but being a fireman was his passion, and after she died. it became his savior. Most of his kids were grown and some had moved away, so he would show up early for work, and stay until late at night," he said.

"The safety and the welfare of his men was the utmost importance," Roylance said. That was the number one thing; it wasn't the fire. He would account for all the men. Were they safe? Were they being taken care of? And we knew that was the case. Phil would always make sure we had something to eat and plenty to drink. He didn't care if it was midnight, there was some food for you."

Cope recalled an interaction he had with Phil concerning his protective clothing. "If your gear was somewhat out of whack, he would take it away. I liked the old stuff. He walked up to me one day and cut my suspenders off because they had a tear. I said, 'Phil, I was gonna sew those.' He said, 'they're not worth it!' He took his knife out and just cut them off! He'd make a fun game out of it, but yet he'd get his point across."

Phil was teased a lot by his crew about retiring and usually gave the same answer: "When it's no longer fun, I'm having too much fun." Just last week Phil told firefighter Mike Ewing that they would both die working. For Phil to leave like this couldn't have been any better," Cope said.

Robinson said, "The fire crew becomes a brotherhood and a sisterhood. We are all one big family here, and even retired I feel close to some of them. You put your life in each others hands."

The three men agreed that Phil was known for his meticulous book-keeping skills. If the city council had any questions on the budget, they would come over and ask Phil and he could tell them exactly what was spent for next month, and the following month. Everything was in order.

Paul Wheeler has been a volunteer fireman since 1977. He remembers what the fire department was like then, and what it is today because of Phil's leadership. "Since Phil has been chief, he has brought us out of the Stone Age and into a modern, well-trained and equipped fire department. He has worked very hard for that. On more than one occasion, he has stated how much he loved the men in the station, and how much he loves serving the citizens of Springville."

There have only been two minor injuries since Phil has been in charge of the department. He made himself a promise that he would never have to stand on a firefighter's porch and tell his wife that she was a widow.

In 1995 Phil was also put in charge of the Emergency Medical Services and also did a lot to modernize their equipment and training. He would run a back-up crew at ten or eleven at night while the main one was out on an ambulance call. Chief was always monitoring to see what was going on and he would come and help the staff and ambulance.

The first vehicle the fire department had was a two-wheel drive pick-up truck that was used at the sewage disposal plant. Phil painted it and put a light bar on it and made do. He would find reject surplus equipment from other cities and made a brush truck to fight grass fires. He refurbished an old military vehicle that did not run and built it into a water truck that was replaced just five years ago.

When the new city offices were being built, the council wanted Phil to put his office in the administration building. Phil told them he would quit. He wanted to be in the station with his men. He told the council that if he was not there, the firefighters won't come in to visit. He was emphatic that his office needed to be in the station. Phil would correct his crew when needed, but always wanted to make sure that there were not hurt feelings later. He would make sure that everything was okay.

Wheeler said, "We only saw the hard side of Phil when there was a safety issue. If a fireman got scolded it was because he was afraid it was going to cause somebody harm. It was always a safety issue."

"Phil was very detail-orientated and wanted things done perfectly. He trained his officers and men to follow that example. This fire station will go on for a very long time with his legacy leading us, no matter who comes in to take his place," said Wheeler.

"Whoever comes along has some huge shoes to fill," said Allen Duke, a full-time firefighter. "We won't understand for a while how much he did for this community."

Phil Whitney received numerous awards and recognitions including National Exchange Club Firefighter of the Year. He was appointed by Governor Leavitt to the Utah Fire Prevention Board in 1997, and in 2008 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Intermountain Utah Valley Emergency Services (Daily Herald).

Phil and his wife did a project in the 1990's for the Intermountain Burn Center at University Hospital and every year he and Helen always made sure there was a quilt for the raffle at Art City Days, and the money they raised went to the Burn Center.

Many people have suggested that the new fire station be named after Chief Whitney. There is a statue commissioned for him that the city is raising money for. It will be placed at the fire station. Donations for the statue can be sent to the Fire Department Statue Fund in memory of Chief Whitney, 75 W. Center, Springville, Utah, 84663.