Michael Spairana III officially joined Bowmanstown Volunteer Fire Company when he was 16, but he knew he was destined to be a firefighter long before that. Unofficially, he’s been hanging around the fire department since he was just 5 years old.

“You go from playing on the trucks to participating in drills, just hanging out with them. Some parades. After that, it normally doesn’t take too long before you get the bug,” he said.

Now a 25-year veteran of the department, Spairana is the fire department’s captain — responsible for everything from giving orders to firefighters on the way to a call, to making sure the trucks are maintained in good working order.

It’s the highest position in the department outside of chief and assistant chief. On the way to a call, Spairana sits in the front passenger seat, communicating with Carbon County control center to learn details about the call, and delegating responsibilities to the firefighters in back.

“I’m letting the Comm Center know we’re responding, finding out from an officer on the scene what they want us to do, and then giving directions to the guys on the truck, so when we get off, everybody has a plan,” he said.

Over the years, he’s responded to a lot of the largest fires in the area, ones that have required teamwork from departments around the county.

East Penn stays busy on their own calls, mutual aid calls in the greater Palmerton area, and responding to calls on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the Lehigh Tunnel and Mahoning Interchange.

One of the most memorable calls in Spairana’s career came in his days with the department. A building on Mahoning Mountain used for manufacturing candles went up in flames. The melted wax created a mess for firefighters. They even brought a crash truck from the Lehigh Valley airport to spray firefighting foam on the wax.

“The wax looked like molten lava, it was just rolling down the hillside. It would pop like lava — bubbles would come up out of the wax and just go “poof” and a little fireball would come out,” he said.

The April 2015 brush fire on the Blue Mountain also sticks out in his memory. More than 300 acres burned and state officials used air tankers and helicopters to contain it.

The Country Junction fire in 2006 was another fire that he won’t soon forget. The huge complex in Towamensing Township burned to the ground, prompting a response from fire departments around the county.

“You can never forget that one. We were probably almost there the whole day,” he said.

He gets along well with the chief, and he better, because he also happens to be his son. Michael Spairana Jr. said he’s proud that his son followed him into the fire service. He can recall the first time they worked a dwelling fire together.

“(We) took the attack line in and fought the fire. That’s pretty cool. That was a pretty cool experience,” he said.

Chief Spairana says he thought he spent a lot of time at the fire company, but his son is just as dedicated. He said his son’s dedication to maintaining the fire company’s equipment and facilities is crucial to them being able to do their job.

“We don’t have the resources to replace it. So we maintain it as much as we can in house. Believe it or not, if you keep cleaning your vehicle, it’ll last a hell of a lot longer,” he said.

Spairana III also oversees the department’s wing nights, which are a successful fundraiser. Every Thursday the department’s kitchen cooks up dozens of orders for members of the community.

He said keeping the vehicles in shape is a team effort, and he has a great team supporting him. Following a serious fire, they’ll bring the hoses back to the fire house and hang them to dry before rerolling them to put them back on the rig.

“The rest of the guys help me do this,” he said. “I am not a one-man show. I ask, and they help.”

Spairana III said the camaraderie of being part of the fire service is very important to him.

He said he knows the feeling when an athlete decides to retire and they say the part they’ll miss the most is hanging out with their teammates.

Chief Spairana says he hopes someday his son will take over the head of the department for him.

While he’s had opportunities to move out of the area for work, Spairana III says he’s happy to stay here to serve his community and raise his own son while continuing a family tradition.

“Whatever the call is, from small to large, when you’re done, you do have an accomplished feeling that you did something good for mankind, for your community,” Spairana said.

The Lehigh Valley Health Network Neighborhood Spotlight feature volunteers making a mark on their community. To nominate someone send an email to tneditor@tnonline.com.