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Fallen Brothers: Fire chief, 72, dies at home

Springville Fire Chief Phillip Whitney died at his home Wednesday morning.

Whitney’s daughter found him collapsed in a bathroom about 11 a.m. and he was pronounced dead at the house, said Springville police Lt. Dave Caron.

Whitney, 72, complained overnight about being sick to his stomach and phoned in sick for work about 8 a.m., Caron said. That alone was strange.

“He was one of those guys, he never complained. He never called in sick,” Caron said.

Caron said it’s not known what sickened Whitney or whether it was the flu.

Whitney appeared to be in good health and was at work and discussing department business Tuesday afternoon, said John Gleave, the community relations administrator for Springville.

“Every employee here is just… We can’t believe it,” Gleave said.

Caron said Whitney joined the Springville Fire Department in about 1977 as a volunteer. At the time, the city did not have a full-time fire chief, Caron said. But when Springville decided it needed one in the early 1980s, it hired Whitney.

With Whitney leading the Fire Department, the city recently replaced its fire station and is constructing a satellite station.

Survivor and funeral information was not immediately available. Caron anticipated Whitney will receive a public funeral with full firefighter honors.