Protecting, Preventing, and Supporting with Phil Tammaro

In this episode of Girls with Grafts, Rachel and Amber sit down with Phil Tammaro, burn survivor, retired fire captain, and Burn Coordinator for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). 🚒

Phil shares how a burn injury at just two years old shaped his life, while his family’s long history in public safety ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in the fire service. He reflects on what it was like to serve as a firefighter while also carrying his own experience as a burn survivor, and how those two parts of his life have shaped his passion for fire safety, burn prevention, and supporting others.

Drawing on more than three decades in the fire service, Phil shares practical fire safety and prevention tips and talks about his work with the IAFF to strengthen burn awareness and peer support within the fire service community. ❤️

Phil also reflects on the power of connection in his own healing journey, including attending his first Phoenix World Burn Congress and returning nearly every year since. He shares how finding a community of people who understood his experience reinforced something he now carries into his own peer support work: no one should have to navigate recovery alone.  

#BurnSurvivor #GirlsWithGrafts #Podcast #SurvivorPodcast #BurnSurvivorStories

⭐️ Enjoyed the show? Tell us by leaving a 5-star review and sharing on social media using #GirlswithGrafts and tagging Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors!  

Meet Our Guest 

Phil Tammaro serves as the Burn Coordinator for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), where he brings over 31 years of experience as a retired captain from the Billerica, MA Fire Department. He is a nationally recognized subject matter expert and speaker on fire safety, burn prevention, and peer support. From 2009 to 2024, he served as the IAFF 3rd District Burn Coordinator, during which he was awarded the 2016 American Burn Association Burn Prevention Award and the 2023 Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors Joe Hickey Fire Service Award.

His personal experience as a burn survivor, combined with his professional background, uniquely qualifies him to effectively address the impact of burn injuries within the fire service and in our communities.

Phil’s journey from burn survivor to fire fighter began when he was just a toddler. In 1971, at the age of two, he suffered 3rd degree burns over 35% of his body from an explosion in his home.  Phil spent many years at the Burn Centers in Boston as a patient undergoing numerous skin grafts and reconstructive surgeries to maintain full use of his legs.  His last surgery related to his burns was in 2024, 54 years after the fire.

Links 

• Learn more about Phoenix SOAR: https://resources.phoenix-society.org/phoenix-soar 
• Learn more about Phoenix World Burn Congress: https://www.phoenix-society.org/phoenix-wbc 
• Read “What to Expect: Mental Health & Emotional Well-Being:” https://www.phoenix-society.org/resources/what-to-expect-mental-health 

Podcast Sponsor 

Today’s podcast is powered by the National Fire Protection Association! NFPA is a nonprofit that seeks to save lives and reduce loss with information, knowledge, & passion. Learn more about fire safety and explore their educational resources by visiting www.nfpa.org. 

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the show? Email us at info@phoenix-society.org.