By Cambria Roth
Our Town Life interviewed Bill Miles about his new position as chief of the Silverton Fire Department. He replaces Vince Herman, who retired after almost 29 years of service. Miles, 50, is married and lives in Silverton. He and his wife, Cheryl, have two grown children, Dan and Amy.
Q. What positions have you held in the past and how have those positions gotten you to where you are today?
“I worked my way up to being chief but I began as a volunteer for a fire station in high school. Then I was hired as a paid fire inspector for a couple of years and was moved to a maintenance officer and became a training officer for 10 years. I am now the fire chief here at the Silverton Fire Station.”
Q. What is one thing that appealed to you about becoming a firefighter?
“I became interested in firefighting because of the different excitement every day and being able to help someone that is having his or her worst day and make it better. The fire apparatus and the uniqueness of it also drew me in.”
Q. Has there been one firefighting experience that has had a profound impact on your life?
“For me, being able to see people come in having the ambition of becoming firefighters and then a year later seeing them actually out there doing their job is very rewarding.”
Q. What has been one of the scariest moments you have had while working as a firefighter?
“I was driving a fire engine in a field fire, back when the men would ride on the tailboard, because they had a drip torch. As we drove up the hill, the fire engine lost traction to the grass and spun out of control while the fire was coming at us and literally under the engine. The fire ended up going into brush and the fire engine resumed traction so we could continue moving.”
Q. What can you tell students who are considering firefighting? What do they need to consider?
“Fire service is a rewarding career. Being a volunteer firefighter is a good way to serve your community while being able to find out if it is what you want to pursue as a career. There are many jobs available and opportunities in this field. We are actually taking applications right now for people who are 18 years old that are considering this as a career and would like to go to the academy that trains new firefighters.
Q. What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t working?
“I like to work on old cars and collect fire memorabilia.”
