2022 Award Recipient – Rebecca Booker
The Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) and the International Fire Service Training Association/Fire Protection Publications/Oklahoma State University are proud to announce that Rebecca Booker is the recipient of the 2022 CFSI/IFSTA Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education. The award recognizes individuals for outstanding achievements at the national level in fire safety education. The award presentation will be on April 7th at the 32nd Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner in Washington, DC.
Ms. Booker served 20 years as a certified Fire and Life Safety Educator, an arson investigator, and a certified firefighter I at the Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View (SBM) Fire Department in Blaine, Minnesota (MN). She brought to her work 16 years of experience as an oncology registered nurse in California.
Among her important contributions to fire safety education, Ms. Booker helped develop the Home Safety Survey (HSS) program as part of SBM’s Community Risk Reduction (CRR) efforts. Evolved into a nationally-recognized program, HSS is a voluntary home inspection program that looks for potential fire, injury and crime hazards while offering solutions. Ms. Booker personally completed nearly 4,000 home safety surveys while she trained and guided colleagues across the country to complete many more. In addition, Becky helped establish a New America Academy in Minnesota that provides fire safety education for culturally diverse and immigrant communities.
“Ms. Booker earned this award, in part, because of her amazing set of critical skills and commitment to teamwork in advancing fire safety education, said Bill Jenaway, CFSI President. ‘It is a commitment she has shared with her department and community and with so many other fire safety advocates across the United States and internationally.”
Craig Hannan, Director of Oklahoma State University’s Fire Protection Publications adds, “Ms. Booker has provided key resources to advance the fire service’s evolution to results-oriented CRR across this nation. She has also been heavily involved with carbon monoxide detection education and has demonstrated a leadership role with an international radon education organization.”
About the Award
The CFSI/IFSTA Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education
recognizes individuals for outstanding achievements at the national level in fire safety education. It was named in honor of Dr. Anne W. Phillips for her profound and enduring contributions to fire safety education.
Dr. Phillips was a member of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, a 20-member body appointed by President Richard Nixon in 1971 to study our nation’s fire problem and make recommendations for reducing the fire losses across the country. The culmination of the Commission’s work was the seminal report, America Burning. As a member of the Commission, Dr. Phillips authored the Minority Report that pushed the Commission to recognize the critical role of prevention in reducing fire injuries and deaths.
Throughout her life, Dr. Phillips demonstrated an unwavering dedication to fire prevention and preparedness to strengthen fire safety education across the country. The award is named in her honor to keep the work and spirit of Dr. Phillips alive well beyond her lifetime by celebrating those who follow her example to move the field of fire prevention and safety forward.
Previous Recipients
2007 Jim Dalton
2008 Nancy Trench
2009 Pat Mieszala
2010 Sharon Gamache
2011 Peg Carson
2012 Meri-K Appy
2013 Jim Crawford
2014 Mary Marchone
2015 Catherine B. Lohr and Pamela A. Powell
2016 Gerry Bassett
2017 Marsha Giesler, Downers Grove (IL) Fire Department
2018 Mike Weller, Hagerstown MD Fire Department
2019 Dr. Ernest Grant
2020 Ed Comeau
2021 Don Porth
2022 Rebecca Booker