Todd Miller never imagined a career in professional firefighting while growing up in Hampton. A 1997 graduate of Hampton-Dumont, Miller was active in sports and initially planned to study criminal justice, inspired in part by his father, Arlyn Miller, a longtime Hampton police officer and firefighter.
That path changed after a conversation with retired Hampton Fire Chief Ron Weldin during a fishing trip, when Weldin encouraged him to consider firefighting as a profession.
“They spoke with me one night and Ron, the fire chief says ‘I think you should really look at being a professional firefighter.’ And I hadn’t never even contemplated or thought about being a professional firefighter. Cause in my mind, a firefighter in rural Iowa or any volunteer setting was, or any firefighting, didn’t know you can make a wage at it. So I just thought you served your community. You hung out with your buddies and you had fun with your friends, did some training, you ran some calls. And I thought, wow, if I get paid to do this, this is pretty special.”
Todd Miller joined the Hampton Fire Department alongside his father, where he saw firsthand the camaraderie and sense of service that comes with the job. In 2000, he moved to Las Vegas, began testing for fire departments, and joined the Las Vegas Fire Explorers program, gaining valuable experience and connections. He joined the City of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Team in 2005.
During his career, Miller says he has been part of high-profile rescues, including a technical rope rescue of stranded window washers dozens of stories above the Las Vegas Strip.
“The window washers were stuck roughly 34 floors above the ground level. The roof of the structure, I think, was about 55 stories up. We set up rope systems up top. I was part of the technical rescue team. So we set up the rope systems, we lowered some rescuers down, picked off the three window washers that were on a scaffolding that was stuck on the side of the Vdara tower and lowered them all the way down. And that was a memorable call.”
Now a veteran firefighter, Miller hopes to inspire young people from rural communities to consider firefighting as a rewarding career built on teamwork, service and purpose.
“I don’t know how many kids know about being a professional fireman, but a lot of us here, we’re involved with sports and teamwork and you have everything that right there at the fire department. We’re able to eat chow together. We work out together. We have fun together. We watch movies together. It’s just a really good experience that I don’t know that a lot of rural America thinks about. If I could get the voice out there, this firefighting is a great avenue to go down to, because it’s very rewarding. You know you’re not going to be the richest guy on the block, but you are really going to have a good foundation under you and be able to help people and feel fulfilled in life.”
Set to retire next spring, Todd Miller leaves behind a career that started in Hampton and grew into a lifetime of service.
Photo courtesy of Todd Miller as a member of the City of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Team
