PORTLAND, Maine — With the end of the year comes the end of a historic career for one Portland paramedic.
Bill Miller started with the Portland Fire Department in May 1988, which he said makes him the longest-tenured paramedic ever on the department’s Medical Crisis Unit.
For the past couple of years, Miller been stationed on Munjoy Hill, which is where his son Zach joined him for his final shift on New Year's Eve. Past and present members of the department cycled through the station Sunday morning, congratulating Bill and swapping stories about his more than three decades on a job where no two days are the same.
Zach joined the department a couple of years ago, and Bill said he’s proud the family legacy is continuing.
“He started off reading the map book to me on a fly card in the midcoast when he was probably 12 years old. Ever since then he’s always had a penchant for coming with me and doing this job," Bill remembered. "From the time he first started riding when he was in EMT school, he has a very good patient demeanor. He really connects with people well, and I’m very proud of how he acts as a paramedic.”
Two of Bill's other kids, Amanda and Tommy, work at Maine Medical Center. Tommy does registration in the emergency room, and Amanda is a certified nursing assistant.
Zach said it's been rewarding to get to the point where he's actually following in his dad's footsteps and doing the job.
“All the times that he came home, and he was really tired, it all makes a lot of sense now," Zach explained. "Being there, and how you make such an impact and then you go home and kind of live this normal life even though you’ve done all these super important things maybe the night before or the day before, but nobody really knows that. So now I totally understand that. You just get to see a lot and do a lot.”
The fire department planned to cook up a big seafood dinner in Bill’s honor on Sunday. Then, bellies full of scallops, he and his son will serve the city on New Year's Eve, just as Bill has for the past 36 years.
“It’s a great town filled with really wonderful people," Bill said. "Everyone I speak to says this is some sort of thankless job, but I get thanked constantly, and people are absolutely wonderful to me. I’m very proud that I’ve spent the bulk of my career here.”