HawkStrong: Lyon Township Fire Chief retires after 36 years of service
During his first semester at HFC (then Henry Ford Community College), Lyon Township Fire Chief Ken Van Sparrentak realized he wanted to fight fires for a living.
“After I graduated from high school, I went with a friend to California where I met his uncle, who was a forestry firefighter,” recalled Van Sparrentak. “I was really intrigued by his stories. My friend’s uncle inspired me and convinced me to become a firefighter. When I returned home, I looked into firefighting programs. HFC was close by and had a great reputation. I took a couple of courses in fire science and had great instructors, who were veteran firefighters. I knew in my first term that this was my path.”
“I’m leaving at the top of my game”
Van Sparrentak has been a firefighter since 1987. He began his career at the Ferndale Fire Department, serving there from 1987 to 2003. He then served as the fire chief at the Walled Lake Fire Department from 2003 to 2013. For the last decade, Van Sparrentak has been the fire chief at the Lyon Township Fire Department. He is retiring on Friday, Sept. 1, his 10th anniversary of becoming chief.
Van Sparrentak admitted he had been thinking about retiring for awhile.
“Part of leadership is having an understanding of when you’ve brought an agency as far as you can bring it. There comes a time for fresh blood and new leadership,” he said. “I had great crews at Walled Lake and I leave Lyon Township with great crews. I’m leaving at the top of my game. I’m proud of what I’ve done for Lyon Township. I love working here. I always promised myself that when I retired, I didn’t want to leave feeling embittered at the end of my career. I would not allow that to happen because I love the job too much. It’s too important to me. I’m in a good place mentally.”
He admitted he has some apprehension about retirement.
“There is always that next goal toward completing our mission,” said Van Sparrentak. “There is always something else you want to accomplish. That is one of the struggles. The work is never done. There are a few things that you wish could get done, but once you do, more work will always be there. Once you complete it, there’s always something else. It's never over – but for me, it is.”
Veteran firefighters taught at HFC, giving classes “instant credibility”
The third of four children, Van Sparrentak was born in Dover, DE. His father served in the United States Air Force. When he was 1, Van Sparrentak’s family moved to Michigan and he was raised in Southgate. He lives in Fenton with Sandy, his wife of 32 years. They have two adult daughters.
Although he began at Southgate Anderson High School, Van Sparrentak graduated from Aquinas High School in Southgate in 1982. He earned his associate degree in fire science from HFC in 1985.
“I was very happy with the entire experience at the College,” said Van Sparrentak. “I graduated when I was 20. Many fire departments didn’t allow you to apply until you were 21. The College prepared me for my career, and I have nothing but good memories of it. I looked forward to all of my classes, especially in fire science – they were taught by veteran firefighters. They gave those classes instant credibility and led me to my other career, which is teaching fire science (at Oakland Community College).”
Advice to future firefighters: Keep moving forward with your education
Van Sparrentak earned his bachelor's degree in fire science from Madonna University. He wished he had completed his undergraduate career sooner. He encourages future firefighters to keep training and continue their education, because learning is never done in this line of work.
“You have to always keep moving forward, whether it’s training or education,” he said. “I remember when I completed my associate degree at HFC, then got hired in Ferndale, I thought I had made it. I put my education aside for six years until my first daughter was born. I realized I had to raise my education level to advance further. I was going to keep my education moving forward.”
First firefighter in Michigan to graduate from Naval Postgraduate School
Van Sparrentak completed the executive fire officer program at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD. He was the first firefighter in Michigan to earn his master’s degree in homeland security and defense from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.
“That is one of my professional highlights,” he said. “It was an honor to have been accepted. I still keep in touch with many people in the graduating cohort and still attend the annual alumni reunion and training conference. It’s a milestone in my life and something I’m proud of.”
When he was starting out in 1987, there were too many firefighters and not enough jobs. After graduating from HFC, Van Sparrentak tried to get a firefighting job in California. He recalled waiting nearly 6 hours in line to fill out an application at what is now Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA, where the Anaheim Fire & Rescue was accepting 2,000 applications. He was the 1,400th applicant. In Palm Springs, CA, there were four firefighter openings with more than 1,000 applicants. Fortunately, Van Sparrentak returned to Michigan, where he began his career.
“There are incidents that stay with you forever”
In his 36 years of fighting fires, Van Sparrentak has seen it all, his days ranging from the mundane to the frenetic, from the heartwarming to the heartbreaking.
“There are incidents that stay with you forever,” he said. “The fact the outcomes aren’t always what we want, but the fact that we always tried our best is a saving grace. From the administrative end of things, politics creeps in, but that’s part of life.”
He continued: “At every fire department I’ve ever worked at, the people were friendly and embraced their jobs and loved providing career advice to young hopefuls. Every day is different, which is one of the more attractive things about the job – even as an administrator. I’ve just always appreciated that we don’t know what will happen in the next minute, the next hour, or the next day, but that’s why we train. It’s still a great job, it’s still a great career. There are so many opportunities now compared to 36 years ago.”
Becoming a fire chief was the next logical step
Van Sparrentak spoke about becoming a fire chief, which he’s been for 20 years.
“My dad, being in the military, would take charge to make things happen,” he said. “He instilled that in me. It seemed like the logical next step to go up the chain of command.”
Lyon Township has grown exponentially in his decade as fire chief, becoming one of the fastest-growing communities in Oakland County and in Michigan.
“There was a nice tax base that allowed for investment, so the community wasn’t broke. When I came aboard, there were only two full-time firefighters. As I’m leaving, there are now 16 full-time firefighters. Our equipment and apparatus have been upgraded. I think we’ve provided better service to the public by improving training capabilities and response time. The next fire chief will bring that even further than where it is today,” said Van Sparrentak.
He will miss the camaraderie -- the best part of his job.
“It’s the daily interaction with those you work alongside and the overall goal of helping the public,” he said. “There is a camaraderie very few understand unless you relied on the person next to you to save your life or for you to save theirs. The brotherhood that is required in this job creates a bond that is not very common and not very well understood.”
Retirement plans include living on the lake and a trip to Europe with his wife
While he is retiring from Lyon Township, Van Sparrentak will continue teaching. This fall, he will teach a new program in homeland security and emergency management. He will also continue to teach fire science.
Besides spending more time with his wife and daughters, one of his retirement plans is to go with Europe with his wife.
“We’ve never been to Europe. I’m leaning toward Ireland, she’s leaning toward Germany. We’ll figure it out. We want to travel while we’re still young enough to enjoy it. We’ll get to Europe in 2024,” said Van Sparrentak. “We just built a house on a lake and purchased a pontoon boat. We’ve never lived on a lake or had a boat. We want to enjoy life a little bit.”