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Edward Miller will receive this year's Higgins and Langley Memorial Award for his exceptional leadership in swift-water rescue and recovery operations.  Miller is a driver and engineer with the fire department.  As an instructor and mentor, he has overseen the training of more than 700 swift-water rescue technicians and more than 300 dive recovery specialists.  Miller also is credited for his direct involvement in saving the lives of ten people in swift-water conditions.

Miller was the city's firefighter of the year in 2007.  He's scheduled to receive the national award Friday night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, during the annual convention of the National Association For Search And Rescue.  The organization recognizes the top swift-water rescuers around the globe.

The award started in 1993 to honor Earl Higgins and Jeff Langley.  Higgins was a writer and filmmaker who died trying to rescue a boy from a flooded Los Angeles River in 1980.  Langley was a firefighter and paramedic who was a pioneer in swift-water rescue programs.  He died in a 1993 helicopter accident.