The Phillipsburg City Fire Department and Phillips County Rural Fire District #1 received the 2016-2017 Veterans of Foreign Wars District #6 Fire Department of the Year Award as well as the Veterans of Foreign Wars 2016-2017 Outstanding Firefighter Team. J.T. Plummer, Chairman of VFW Post #8873, Stockton, Kansas, presented the awards to the members of the fire departments. In the nomination application, Plummer reported the departments serve the City of Phillipsburg and 390 square miles of Phillips County. The Departments also have mutual aid agreements with the other Phillips County Rural Fire Departments in Logan, Kirwin-Agra, and Prairie View – Long Island. Besides Phillips County, Departments have mutual aid agreements with Rooks, Norton, Graham, and Smith counties in Kansas as well as Harlan County, Nebraska.