Meet Everett Cooke, St. Albert’s new fire chief

“I am very excited. I will take a strategic look at the ambulance service over the next few weeks and months and thus gain a solid understanding of the operation of St. Albert.”

A former Beaumont fire chief comes to St. Albert to run the town’s fire department.

Everett Cooke, who began serving as the St. Albert fire chief on September 13, served as the Beaumont fire chief for a total of four years. Prior to that, he was the chief fire officer for the County of Grand Prairie Regional Fire Department.

Cooke has been with the fire department for 20 years. The father of three said he developed a passion for firefighting while in the town of Sexsmith outside of Grand Prairie.

“The ability to help others in the community and provide emergency services to residents was what attracted me to the job,” said Cooke.

Cooke says he loves working with a range of employees, both on the floor and in administration, to achieve their goals and get their jobs done safely and effectively.

“When I am able to lead a team and the team is able to achieve the goals set by the community, I find it rewarding,” said Cooke.

Looking back on his career, Cooke said he was particularly proud to have successfully expanded a volunteer service set up by Grand Prairie County into a full-time composite fire department that served more than 5,500 square kilometers.

The expansion included the addition of two full-time wards and several full-time workers, as well as the procurement of the necessary equipment to provide the services to residents.

“We completed this in less than two years and it is still there today,” said Cooke. “I am very proud of this achievement.”

Previously, Cooke said residents would “suffer” if they got a fire.

“In the end, it really provided better service to residents,” Cooke said of the expansion.

He added that he believes there will be more highlights as he continues to work.

Rental follows turbulence

Cooke’s appointment as fire chief comes after a period of controversy in the St. Albert Fire Department.

In February 2021, former boss Bernd Gretzinger resigned over complaints that two of the city’s fire chiefs allegedly received their COVID-19 vaccines in front of frontline workers.

After Gretzinger resigned from office, his temporary successor Scott Wilde resigned after a vote of no confidence in June.

Cooke said his focus as he enters the new position will be “looking ahead”.

“I’m not going to spend a lot of time looking at what happened in the past,” Cooke said. “From this point on, my focus is on managing the rescue services and the rescue service team.”

Taking on the role of fire chief Cooke sees not just an opportunity for himself, but for the entire fire department to work together, he said.

“I’m very excited. I will be taking a strategic look at the Emergency Department in the coming weeks and months and that will give me a solid understanding of St. Albert’s operations,” said Cooke.

“I am very excited to be joining the St. Albert team.”