Gary Todd Miller

Pine Mountain Firefighter

Unit # 1222

 Gary Todd Miller was a cherished member of the Pine Mountain Fire Department.

Born March 3, 1967, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, Todd was the recipient of many jokes about his Yankee accent and mannerisms. Some of the firefighters constantly attempted to get him to try such Southern delicacies as grits and boiled peanuts, but without much success.

Todd joined the Pine Mountain Fire Department in 1997. We aggravated him about being a Yankee, but we never joked about his dedication and willingness to help others.

He was always dependable and one could never ask for a better team member inside a burning structure. At the time of his death, Todd was studying to become an Emergency Medical Technician. He would have been an excellent Paramedic.

Todd spent eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps. During that time, he served as a Marine Security Guard spending 18 months in Ethiopia, another 18 months in Brussels, and enjoyed a number of other postings in Europe. Todd was very proud of his Marine Corps service.

Pine Mountain firefighters could tell many stories about Todd and here is one such story. A Pine Mountain firefighter was slightly late for a training class. Todd was already there and chastised him for being late.

“I was watching a show about a great Marine and lost track of time,” the firefighter explained.

“Was it Chesty Puller?” Todd asked.

“No -- Gomer Pyle,” the firefighter responded which drew laughter from everybody.

On August 23, 2000, Todd collapsed in his home of an apparent heart attack. Todd left two children, Joseph and Brittany.

Todd never met a stranger and was always there to lend a helping hand to anybody who needed it. To this day, Pine Mountain firefighters still miss him.

Todd’s unit number in the Pine Mountain Fire Department was 1222. Though that number has never been officially retired, it has not been used again.