The 2010 Arkansas River Valley Fire Academy is dedicated in memory of

 Dennis E. Sponer.  Dennis served as the Training and Safety Coordinator of the Arkansas Forestry Commission for 22 years (November 1979-January 2001).

    Dennis earned a BS in Recreation and Parks Administration from Arkansas Tech University, and began work for the Arkansas Forestry Commission in November 1979. Dennis spent his entire career working in the area of wildland fire training, safety training, and incident information. In his early years with the AFC Dennis traveled across Arkansas presenting wildland fire training to members of volunteer fire departments.  In one year alone Dennis did training in over 71 different fire departments, and 950 fire department members.

    Throughout his years of interagency fire training in Arkansas, Dennis actively promoted the idea of presenting a wildfire academy in Arkansas where employees of all federal and state agencies involved in natural resource management and fire suppression could come together and pool their resources of personnel, equipment, and time for interagency fire training.  “If we work together in the field, why should we not train together in the classroom?” was a theme that Dennis mentioned often.

    The 2010 River Valley Fire Academy salutes and recognizes the early effort of Dennis Sponer and his work in Arkansas promoting interagency wildland fire training.

Dennis pictured on right at fire camp on Fork Fire in No. California.

1996

    Dennis Sponer started his career with the Arkansas Forestry Commission in November of 1979 as a Training Officer II, traveling around Arkansas and presenting wildland fire training to the newly organized volunteer fire departments.  The following is a quote from one of the fire department chiefs regarding Dennis that was in his personnel file.

“Anytime a bunch of flatland people will sit and listen to a hillbilly talk about forest fires, I would say he was a good instructor.”

Joe Coker-Walnut Ridge Fire Department  3/27/1989.

    Dennis’ personnel file was full of letters of appreciation from State Foresters, Forest Supervisors, fire chiefs, co-workers, and even from elementary students thanking him for playing Smokey Bear at their school.

    Dennis had at least three loves in his life, his wife Diane, his daughter Ashley and his love for fire training. Dennis was a very active player on the Arkansas Forestry Commission out-of-state fire crew.  Dennis worked as a firefighter and squad boss on several of his early out-of-state fire assignments in the early 1990’s.  One newspaper reporter for the Sentinel-Record newspaper once asked Dennis about the dangers or fear of working on wildfires.  Dennis answer to that question was “Fear doesn’t enter your mind when you have a job to do.  We train heavily in fire safety.” Later in Dennis’ career he worked in roles of a training specialist, fire prevention team member, and as an information officer. One comment from the Incident Commander on the Idaho City Complex on the Boise National Forest follows. “Dennis was excellent team member. Dennis worked extensively with a PBS TV Film Crew for 1-½ weeks, taking them to the line several times, and spiking out with them”. 

Dennis with PBS Film Crew on Idaho City Complex 1994




    Dennis enjoyed a good practical joke both on and off the fireline, and was the kind of person that would always make you laugh, even after you just came back from 15 hours on the fireline.

Dennis with AR State Crew Mammoth Mountain 

1992





    In the years preceding his death Dennis was the Training Specialist on the AR/OK Overhead Team. One of the toughest assignments that Dennis had to undertake however was not in the western United States, but as part of a review team looking into the burn-over of a fellow Forestry Commission employee, who suffered serious burns while fighting the East Crossett Wildfire in September 1998, which resulted in the employees death from those injuries on October 28, 1998.  To walk the burned ground, talk to other firefighters that were on the line that day, look at the burned dozer, and pick up pieces of a melted hardhat, drove home the importance of good training for Dennis. 

    Dennis Sponer’s career with Arkansas Forestry Commission ended on January 18, 2001 when he suffered a massive heart attack while on the phone to a firefighter in Florida discussing fire training, and the prospect for fires later in the spring; but his memory and contributions to wildland fire training, and especially fire fighter safety continues to live on through the River Valley Wildfire Academy.