Spencer Township Fire Department

As we approach Spencer Township Fire Departments 30th year of fire service to Kent County, we would like to thank the service of 4 firefighters who have service this commiunity since the very beginning: Fire Chief, Alan Wright, Rescue Lt. Lisa Wright, Fire Fighter & Medical First Responder Christpher Lange. But you may noticed I forgot one, this is because recently, our Deputy cheif Paul Lotterman Retired with 29 1/2 years. WOW.

With that being said, it is a must that we keep firefighters sharp, as well as the trucks and equiment they use to run calls and fight fires. The only truck of the original Fleet left was our original rescue truck Rescue #7.

Typically, 30th Anniversary is known as the Pearl Anniversary because, historically, wives celebrating their 30th Anniversary were presented with pearls. We are no different, except our pearl is bright, shinny & RED. We would like to introduce to you Medic 1.

Happy Retirement Deputy Chief Lotterman. We will miss you. Thank you for your 29 1/2 years of service to Spencer Township.

Good Bye Engine 4!

Engine 4 became part of our deparment in 2004.  It served our community for 17 years but now it is time to say good bye.

CONGRATS! 

We want to congradulate Adam and Kara on completion of the Montcalm Fire Acedemy, Class of 2019.

Recently, our front drive has now been fully paved! The township and fire department demed it nessary to pave our front drive for the easy access of fire personnel and fire trucks coming and going from the station.

We ask that any visitors please be careful on this front drive because the project is only partically complete. Around the edges of the new pavement this is a slight drop of ditch. Please be carefully when approching the edges of the new pavement. We hope the project to be complete before the first snowfall. 

On the morning of October 19, 2015, Nathan Wayne Levandowski of Cedar Springs, Michigan, passed away in the loving arms of his wife Jennifer, as a result of injuries sustained after being struck by an automobile— he was 39 years old. Nate was born the last of three sons, to Wayne and Barbara (Schneider) Levandowski on August 17, 1976, in Saginaw, Michigan. He was a 1994 graduate of Heritage High School and had been a longtime resident of the Cedar Springs area. On May 20, 1995, he married his high school sweetheart and soulmate, Jennifer Lyn Kasparek. They created a beautiful life and family together with endless precious and wonderful memories in their twenty years of marriage. Nate and Jennifer were blessed with three amazingly smart, beautiful, sweet, and caring children; Katie Lyn, born on January 6, 2001, Brian Nathan on February 15, 2004, and Jacob Steven on April 17, 2010. Nate was a wonderful and loving father and family man. He loved his children more than anything on this earth, and was so proud of each one of them. He always took the time, every day, to talk to them, help with homework, teach them all the things he knew and liked to do, and also, to just be silly and have fun. Each one of them have many special memories of how he could make them smile and of the time they spent together. Nate joined the Spencer Township Fire Department in 2001, and was a volunteer firefighter, medical first responder, and rescue lieutenant. He loved helping people and his community and the many friendships he made through his seven years with the department. Nate was a loving and devoted husband, father, son, brother, uncle, nephew, and friend. He was an intensely intelligent man who was known to be able to fix anything he got his hands on. Nate had a unique ability to look at any problem or situation, and know how to find a solution or make an improvement. He was a natural leader and many who knew him considered him to be a mentor and someone to look up to. Nate had many close friends and colleagues in his many years spent working at Dennen Steel Corp., and more recently at Big Rapids Products. He always considered his work colleagues as his second family. Nate was very dedicated to his work and took an immense amount of pride in every aspect of his job. He was also known by his colleagues as someone who put the people he worked with first— always asking how he could help them succeed in what they were doing, and more importantly, asking and listening to what was happening in their lives. Nate is survived by his beloved wife Jennifer Levandowski; three beautiful children, Katie, Brian, and Jacob Levandowski; mother Barbara Levandowski; brother Randall Levandowski; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other beloved members of the Levandowski and Kasparek families. He was preceded in death by his father, Wayne Levandowski; and brother Steven Levandowski. There will be a time of visitation from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, 2015, at Pederson Funeral Home, 127 N. Monroe Street NE, Rockford, MI 49341. Following visitation, there will be a time of sharing, scripture service, and a Last Call from the Spencer Township Fire Department at 8:00 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 26, 2015, at Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church, 4865 11 Mile Road NE, Rockford, Michigan 49341. Fr. Tony Russo will be presiding. There will also be a one hour visitation prior to Mass at church. Nate will be laid to rest in Courtland Township Cemetery. Those wishing to offer expressions of sympathy are encouraged to make a memorial contribution to assist the Spencer Township Fire Department, 12131 18 Mile Road NE, Gowen, MI 49326.

Photo and Obituary source: Cedar Springs Post http://cedarspringspost.com/category/churchconnection/obituary/ ;

This year the current firefighters of our department are being sized for new fire gear.

The current gear and helments will out-date at the end of the year. Each new set of gear has the costs of $2000 or more. 

This time around our gear is being purchased for 5 Alarm. 

This year our fire cheif Alan Wright work really hard to get our ISO (Insurance Service Office) ratings down.

The way the ISO ratings work is the lower the score you recieve the better your/our house insurance rating is for our coverage area. If a fire department never gets rated they are considered to be a 9 (worse possible) or unrated. Usually the closer to the city you live, the lower your ISO rating is, and the lower your house insurance is.

In the 23 years the department has been open, Spencer Township has never participated in recieving or working on a LOWER ISO. So we stood at a 9 for several years. 

We are very pleased to announce that our coverage area, thanks to the fire chief, in large part, and the firefighters of your community, Spencer Township received a ISO rating of 6! This number is very good for a coverage area of our size and our location.

Other fire departments in this area:

Montcalm Township - 7

Every year farmers in areas, like ours, registered and put in to a drawing to donate a grant in there name to a non-profit group. The letter reads:

Dear Sprencer Township Fire Departement:

Congratulations! Your organization has been chosen by Rick Smith as the American's Farmers Grow Communities winner for Kent Coutnry in MI. Supporting the organizations that help make rural communities a vibrant place to live, work and raise a family is important to farmers and the Monsanto Fund. Farmers enrolled in the project for an opportunity to win $2,500 for a nonprofit organization in their county that they felt strengthens their community. Your organization was selected as the $2,500 recipient......

We will keep you posted in what the grant will be spent on, which is a Piersing Nossle, and ansul foam.  Thank you!

We are sad to lose one of the most important members of our fire department, Spencer Pumper 3. When the fire department opened in April of 1992, the pumper truck came from the old Havard Fire Department, like many of the firemen and women. Chief Alan Wright, who also served on Havard, said "I just can remember the day the truck come rolling down the street, brand new." But now we have to say good bye to our long fire pumper of 23 years.