AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Fire Chiefs Association has awarded its 2025 Medal of Valor to Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Chief Michael E. Phillips, who went missing during the Central Texas floods on July 5, 2025.
Phillips was responding to emergency calls when his vehicle was swept away by rapidly rising floodwaters near Cow Creek in Burnet County. His vehicle was later recovered approximately two miles from where he was last seen, but his body has not been found.
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The association said the medal recognizes Phillips’ “extraordinary courage and ultimate sacrifice,” noting that he placed others before himself without hesitation during the flooding emergency.
Phillips dedicated more than 30 years to the fire service, including 26 years with the Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department.
His End of Watch was declared July 15, 2025, ten days after he went missing.
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Hundreds of first responders from across Central Texas gathered in Marble Falls on July 29 for a memorial service.