Former Sparks fire chief Andy Flock died Saturday at the age of 60.
Former City of Sparks fire chief Andy Flock died unexpectedly last Saturday, June 23. He was just 60 years old.
Flock began his career as a volunteer at Sparks Fire in 1983, becoming a fulltime firefighter in 1984. He was promoted to Sparks Fire Chief in the late 2000’s before retiring from the department in 2013. Chief Flock also served on the Nevada Commission of Homeland Security and 30 years as a firefighter for the Air National Guard. Flock also was a member of the Technical Rescue teams and Haz-Mat.
“Chief Flock was truly a great man who put his heart and soul into making our city a better place. Our close-knit Sparks family will miss him terribly,” says City of Sparks Mayor Geno Martini.
Current Sparks fire chief Chris Maples worked with Flock when he was hired in 1995 and served with the chief at different battalions. He says that news of his death came as a shock.
“He was the fire chief at a different time in the City of Sparks – he was confronted with the Great Recession and had to deal with layoffs and budgeting shortfalls. But he handled the situation incredibly well and made us a better department with his leadership.
He was a highly regarded as a firefighter and fire chief. He spent 30 years with the Air National Guard Fire Department as well, so we’ve been getting a lot of calls from people in the area expressing how sorry they are and giving their condolences,” Maples says.
Maples adds that he thought of Flock as a mentor and went to him when he needed advice. “He was a guy to bounce ideas off of,” he says.
“We’re all going to miss him but we absolutely benefitted from him being fire chief and what he did for this department,” he adds.
Flock is survived by his wife Julie, son AJ, daughter Jamie, and four grandchildren. His services will be announced early this week.
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