Henry County’s most recent fire chief has stepped down. According to a statement posted July 6 on the fire department’s Facebook page, Luther Phillips announced his retirement “after 18 years of dedicated service to the citizens of and visitors to Henry County.”

Phillips was promoted from assistant chief of training to interim fire chief in March of 2018 when Nish Willis was dismissed after less than two years on the job. He became the permanent chief in November of that year. During his HCFD tenure he served in various roles including firefighter/paramedic, lieutenant, technical rescue lieutenant, training officer, battalion captain and battalion chief.