Sparks volunteer fire department members, pictured from left to right, Kyle Moody, Steven Matthews, Houston Knight, Angela Dionne, Nick Collette, and Kenny Smith (other members of this department not pictured).The 1972 pumper engine goes out for structure fires only. Photo provided by Salt Drifter Photography - Leah Wright
by ALANA OWEN
A WINDOW INTO
First Responders In Our Communities Most of us can recall exactly where we were on the morning of April 19, 1995. That day we were reminded of the importance of first responders. I was on my first day of maternity leave, and I immediately stopped what I was doing as television reports began detailing the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City. Years later when my daughter entered college at Oklahoma State University, she quickly became friends with a young man who had a scar across his face. One day he explained that he was one of the children in the building during the 1995 explosion. I felt sad for him to have had such an experience at a young age, but also grateful that he was able to escape such tragedy with his life, thanks no doubt to first responders – the critical heroes who selflessly risk their own safety when someone is in dire straits. The month of May holds many first responder national safety events such as National Police and EMS weeks. I turned to social media and looked up my local Sparks volunteer fire department. There was little to see, no pictures or glory. I contacted the fire chief, Nick Collett, and asked for an interview. My friend and photographer Leah Wright agreed to volunteer her time for photos. We met the volunteers at the fire department and had a fun time getting to know them and taking pictures. Leah posed the firefighters in various shots which they all somewhat reluctantly obliged, clearly they were not used to such OKLAHO MA CORRID OR M AGAZI NE / M AY 2 0 2 2 18
attention. Nick began his career as a firefighter in 2006 and became chief in 2014. He resides in Sparks with his wife Misty and has three grown adult children. Nick told me about a scary incident during his first year with the department. Nick was assisting the assistant fire chief when the firetruck’s motor failed and would not start in the middle of an out-of-control fire with 60 mph winds. Nick and the fire chief left the truck on foot and begin running from the fire when the Jacktown Fire Department picked them up and got them out of harm’s way. Nick said most departments work together and help out during extreme fires, and he remains thankful to this day that Jacktown was present. During that fire, Nick estimated up to 70 agencies were cooperating. Nick always knew he wanted to be a firefighter, but later in life his wife’s father recruited him into the department. His father-in-law was Chief at the Sparks Fire Department at the time. The best part of Nick’s job is whenever he can help someone save themselves or their property, and the worst part is seeing the loss and devastation that is sometimes beyond human control. I asked the chief for any funny stories. He said that at one point they had a lady that would call sometimes two times a day for anything and everything. I asked if she was flirting. His response was, “It’s hard for me to tell.”
