74-year-old retired pastor who called 911 about house fire later dies, NC officials say

A 74-year-old retired pastor who called 911 about a fire at his North Carolina home later died, officials said.

Firefighters believe he was trying to save his cat and didn’t escape the burning house on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

The Stoney Point Fire Department said the homeowner called at about 10:15 p.m. to report the blaze. His cellphone was still connected to 911 operators when crews arrived at the scene and saw the house surrounded with smoke.

First responders went inside the Fayetteville home, hoping to put out the fire and find anyone who could have been inside. Firefighters discovered the homeowner on a bedroom floor “with his Labrador Retriever Ella resting partially on top of” him, the fire department wrote in a news release.

Officials said crews started “lifesaving measures,” and the homeowner was rushed to a hospital. He later was pronounced dead.

The homeowner was identified as 74-year-old Gene Miller, an animal lover and former pastor.

His cat and dog died in the fire, officials told McClatchy News in an email.

Firefighters said Miller was alone in the home when a fire accidentally started in the kitchen. The fire department and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office continue to investigate.

“The home sustained heavy fire damage within the kitchen and den, along with heavy smoke and heat damage to portions of the first floor, while the second floor received smoke damage only,” firefighters wrote in their release.

The Stoney Point Fire Department, one of several agencies that was called to the fire, has a station in Fayetteville, roughly 70 miles south of Raleigh and about 15 miles from the Fort Bragg military base.

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