At nearly 70 years old, my guest, Craig Miller, is one of the oldest firefighters in the world. He doesn’t get paid for it, and he wasn’t even sure he wanted to do it, but the question that gnawed at him was, “If not me, who?” 
In 2023, he shared a startling statistic: “Volunteers comprise some or all of the staffs of more than 85% of fire companies across the U.S., according to an estimate by the National Volunteer Fire Council.” This eye-opening revelation highlights how much responsibility we thrust upon volunteers to keep us all safe.
The funny thing is that Craig could’ve easily been voted least likely ever to battle flames. He’s a public radio guy—you know, the coffee-sipping, tote-bag-toting, academic type. Or, at least, he was, having spent more than 40 years as a broadcaster and journalist. He launched and edited the award-winning Climate Watch multimedia initiative for KQED radio in San Francisco. He’s also an accomplished writer/producer of television documentaries and even co-created a show called “House Detective” for HGTV. 
In 2019, he moved from California’s Bay Area to the Catskill Mountains of New York. The local firefighters pursued his services and eventually succeeded in attaining them. But the pleasure has been all Craig’s. Volunteering as a firefighter has become one of the most gratifying features of his entire life. 
I spoke with him again after our interview, and he wanted to amend one of his answers. Rather than labeling himself principally as a firefighter, he wanted to go on the record as an “evangelist for volunteerism and community service.” I understand and appreciate the distinction, but when that 911 call rings out in the middle of the night, I’m not sure Craig the evangelist is getting out of bed, but Craig the firefighter sure is. One might even say Craig the firefighter is a damn hero. 
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