Yesterday, November 29th, the Paola Fire Department held a Last Alarm Ceremony for Assistant Chief Wendell O. Phillips at the Miami County First Responders Memorial. Only recently did it come to light that Captain Phillips had lost his life in the line of duty as a firefighter. His death came after a house fire at 107 East Wea Street in 1957. He felt ill at the fire and went home. He got worse , suffered a heart attack that evening and died two days later. It was a tragic loss for the community, and the fire department, but, for whatever reason, as the years and decades passed, fewer and fewer people could recall Phillips’ service and sacrifice.
When it was discovered that his name was not on the Memorial, some extensive research, by Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Whelan and others, led to finding some of Phillip’s living relatives. His name will be added to the Kansas Fallen Firefighters Memorial during the annual ceremony Sunday, October 1st of next year.
