Who is Todd Milam?
Todd Milam
Emergency Response Coordinator, Safe Industries — Nearly Three Decades in the Fire Service
Todd Milam planned for this moment for almost thirty years before he ever got here.
“Throughout my fire service experience, I had visions of retirement and what a secondary career I would like. I had prepared myself for a safety and health position,” he says.
That kind of long-view thinking runs through nearly three decades in the fire service—a career that reads like a tour of almost every seat in the house: firefighter, fire captain, safety manager, program director, lieutenant, battalion chief, assistant chief, and task force leader.
Todd’s path started in 1995 as a Fire Captain with Pelham Batesville Fire Department, where he managed departmental training, technical rescue operations, fire investigations, and building maintenance across the district — nearly ten years in the seat that shapes how a career like this gets built. From there, he spent eight years managing regional safety for PC Construction Company, overseeing safety on water and wastewater treatment facility construction across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas — taking his firefighting instincts and applying them somewhere new.
He returned to the fire service world in 2013 as Fire Service Program Director at Greenville Technical College, delivering Firefighter 1 and 2, Hazmat, First Responder, and Vehicle Extrication training to the next generation, while also teaching technical rescue at the South Carolina Fire Academy for more than two decades. From there: Simpsonville Fire Department as a Firefighter/Engineer and Lieutenant, Parker District Fire Department as Battalion Chief and later Assistant Chief, and fourteen years as a Task Force Leader with SCTF-6, South Carolina’s Regional Urban Search and Rescue Team.
In April 2026, that path led him to Safe Industries as Emergency Response Coordinator.
What Kept Him In It
Ask Todd what kept him in the fire service for almost thirty years and the answer isn’t about the calls. “I have an extreme passion for leadership and the desire to lead people,” he says. “The fire service offers many opportunities to lead in adverse conditions. I have enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in emergency operations and serving teams that serve the general public.”
It’s a distinction most people outside the profession never get to see. “The general public is unaware of the sacrifice emergency service people make day to day, but especially what is involved in disaster situations,” Todd says — the long hours, the lost sleep, the mental toll that never makes it into the story people hear.
The People Who Shaped Him
Todd is quick to credit the leaders who shaped how he thinks about the job — including two mentors he lost to the profession itself. “I have been fortunate to have strong leaders as mentors throughout my fire service journey,” he says. “Unfortunately, two were LODDs” — Ronnie Fuller and Tom Kickler. Wesley Hellams, in Laurens County, was another major influence early in his career. “They all demonstrated extreme leadership and coaching.”
The advice that stuck from those years is simple enough to fit on an index card: be humble in all your interactions, and the Golden Rule — treat others how you wish to be treated.
What He's Passing On Now
Nearly thirty years in, Todd’s advice to the people coming up behind him hasn’t gotten more complicated — if anything, it’s gotten sharper. Communicate with intention, and know when email or text isn’t the right tool for the conversation. Protect the line between work and family: “Too many emergency services personnel put work ahead of family. Our family should never be required to sacrifice us for the job.”
Stepping into his new role at Safe Industries, that same instinct shows up as a short list: respect everyone you encounter, read the room before a hard conversation, and remember that teachable moments show up in the middle of ordinary days, not just the big ones. “Reaction is everything,” he says. “Manage your reactions to ensure you react appropriately to the situation.” And share what you know — it’s meant to be handed off.
What He Wants Remembered
When asked what he wants people to remember about the work he’s put in, Todd doesn’t reach for a title or a rank. “I brought value and left it better than I found it,” he says. “I took the opportunity to improve others along the way.”
If he could go back and coach a younger version of himself, the advice would sound familiar by now: invest in yourself early, because education pays off long term. Keep your priorities in order — spiritual health, physical health, mental health. Find solid mentors and hold onto them.
And for anyone just starting out in this line of work, Todd’s advice is the kind nobody tells you upfront: “A loss at home is not worth a win at work.” Be patient — slow and steady wins the race. And take mental health seriously. “Be prepared. Seek resources early.”
Character and integrity, family, craft, and being a true friend — in Todd’s words, those are the things worth spending time and energy on. Nearly thirty years later, that list hasn’t changed. It’s just gotten more lived-in.
