With over 32 years of experience, Phill brings extensive urban and rural incident management perspective to the EMSI cadre. Throughout his career, he has had comprehensive and results oriented success while working in, leading, and managing all facets of public safety and emergency management operations.

Serving as the CALFIRE North Coast Battalion Chief for the San Luis Obispo County Fire Department in California, Phill provides daily leadership, management, planning, and policy making for the organization. The SLO County Fire Department is an all-hazards organization, responding to urban and rural emergency responses, to include medical emergencies. Indicative of his experience and knowledge, he serves as a Deputy Incident Commander for CAL FIRE Incident Management Teams 1 and was the Incident Commander of CAL FIRE IMT 8.

Prior to his rise to Battalion Chief, Phill served around the state of California supervising all-hazards incidents as a Company and Chief Officer. During his time on several Incident Management Teams, Phill responded to a myriad of incidents ranging from day-to-day operations (Type 4 or 5) to multi-agency large scale operations (Type 1). Significant incidents include service as the Type 1 Incident Commander during the Butte Fire (2015), tsunami responses to Peru (2007) and Japan (2011), the San Simeon earthquake (2003), and numerous major hazardous materials incidents and greater alarm fires.

Functioning at a high level in these roles, Phill contributed to the improvement of incident management by developing and presenting various courses in the fields of emergency medicine, urban search and rescue (USAR), wildland and structural firefighting, and Incident Command System (ICS). As the Operations Section Chief for CALFIRE’s curriculum development of the Advanced All-Hazards Incident Management course, he participated in curriculum development, course reviews, deliveries, and exercises for Type 1, 2, and 3 Incident Management Teams (IMT) from federal (U.S. Coast Guard), state (CALFIRE Type 1 IMT), and local agencies. Additionally, he has shared his wealth of knowledge over the years through teaching at two colleges: Allan Hancock College and Columbia College. Instructing students on a gamut of incident management topics, including State Fire Marshal training and everything from basic fire fighting through chief officer courses, Phill has continued to keep abreast of the latest technologies and response ideologies that impact emergency management.

Demonstrating expertise across the wide spectrum of incident command responsibilities, Phill is certified as a Type 1 Incident Commander, a Type 1 Operations Section Chief, a Type 1 Safety Officer, and a Type 1 Liaison Officer/CA Agency Representative. He has also earned an Associates of Science degree in Fire Science from Allan Hancock College.