CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Cedar City residents are coming together to help in the recovery of Fire Chief Mike Phillips after he suffered serious burn injuries during a multi-agency training exercise. And a neighboring fire chief says there are always inherent dangers that firefighters face, even in training.

In Dammeron Valley, fire crews regularly run through rescue scenarios, practicing how to pull people to safety during structure fires and extrications. The trainings themselves can be physically demanding and sometimes dangerous, but crews say they're crucial to making sure they're ready to respond.

Fire departments follow national safety guidelines, including what is called a "1403 Checklist", to conduct live fire trainings safely. But even with those measures, injuries do happen.

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