Life

Longest-serving firefighter looks back on 66 years of service

The Loyalsock Township Volunteer Fire Company celebrated its 100th anniversary last week, and with such a monumental occasion on the horizon, long-time member and current Vice President William "Speedy" Miller looks back at how his extraordinary record of service began.

The call to serve has always been in his blood Miller said.

"I was born and raised in DuBoistown, and my father was a fireman at South Williamsport," he said.

"We lived right at the south side, DuBoistown line, and my bedroom was in the far corner, so every time the fire whistle would blow down here, I would think it was south side's fire, so I'd run over and grab my dad and say, 'hey, there's a fire. There's a fire.' We would get to the South Side Fire Company and find out it was for Loyalsock," he laughed.

"I used to run with my dad all the time until I got married in 1959, and then I moved to Loyalsock," Miller said.

"After I got married and moved down here, I put an application in with the station because I was with DuBoistown and wanted to stay in the fire service. It was six months before I could get in," he said.

"There was a waiting list back in those days, and I had to wait for someone to retire or leave the station," he explained.

A common question Miller gets asked is just how he earned the nickname "Speedy."

"Years ago, when I lived over on Russell Avenue, and every time the fire siren would blow, I'd come running out, jump in my truck, and come around the corner," he explained.

"One day, the fire whistle blew, and I was up on my front porch doing some painting and stuff like that, and rather than jump in the window and come down, I just jumped off the roof and jumped in my vehicle," Miller said.

"Right across the street, one of our other firemen, he had two little kids, and one of them said to his dad, 'you know that Mr. Miller, that fire the other day he got there so fast. He was so speedy," he laughed.

"That's how I got my name, and I've had it to this day," Miller said.

Through the years, Miller has seen some stunning advancements in fire safety, as well as technology.

"We used to have air packs that had a couple lungs worn over the chest, and you had to blow those up," he said.

"It took five minutes to get the thing in operation. Now with these air packs, you flip it on, you flip a switch, and you're going in the building," Miller said, also noting the progression of the fire hoses, nozzles and other equipment.

"Back in those days, our portable radios were a great big case you had to carry around, talking all night," Miller said.

"Then we got the little portable radios, and now we all have these little Minotaurs we carry, and we can get fire calls straight to our cell phones," he said.

Asked to reflect on some highlights of his firefighting career so far, Miller points to one specific instance from around a decade ago.

"I live over by Weis Markets there, and I was sitting at home and this one morning I heard a call for a house on fire on Catherine Street, and thought, 'oh, geez, that's right up the street,'" he explained.

"It was about a block and a half up from where I live, and boy, the smoke and the flames were coming out of this house, and this woman was on the second floor screaming and hollering at the front window, 'my son's in here. I got to go back and get him,'" Miller said.

Miller immediately sprang into action. Utilizing a ladder found by a city police officer, Miller climbed to the second floor and rescued the woman.

Her son was rescued by firefighters on the back side of the house.

"That was my point of glory," Miller said.

For his heroic actions on Nov. 25, 2006, Miller was recognized with a plaque and letter of accommodation by the city.

During his time with the station, Miller has held almost every elected office with only the two exceptions being those of chief and trustee.

To this day, Miller, who recently turned 87, continues to respond with the fire company.

"I tell these guys, I will drive the truck. I will get you to the fire. I will get you water, and that's it," he said.

"I don't drag hoses, I don't fight fires or anything like that. I'm just getting too old for that," he said with a laugh.