Our homegrown chief: Garry Cook takes lead of CFA ahead of El Nino summer

Born and bred King Valley local Garry Cook will be wasting no time settling into his new role as chief of the CFA on the verge of a big summer ahead. After eight years as deputy, Mr Cook was announced as CFA’s new chief officer this week following the departure of Jason Heffernan. According to the latest Bureau of Meteorology seasonal outlook, Victoria likely faces a drier and hotter summer ahead with El Nino firmly established. Mr Cook said while it was a humbling feeling to be elected to the chief role, he’ll have no time to “sit around and navel gaze” as he takes over in October. “We've got a big fuel load building out there at the moment, it's been wet in the north, but it's dry in the east and dry in the southwest,” he said. “We had fires on the weekend down on the coast in Gippsland, that sets some fairly early indicators of what could be ahead of us. “It's about making sure that we've got ourselves in as good a shape as we can possibly be as we move into what could potentially be another pretty serious summer for the state of Victoria.” Mr Cook started his firefighting journey in the King Valley in 1981, joining his local Edi fire brigade as a 16-year-old, following in the footsteps of his father, before progressing into the career ranks at 21. After moving through various roles across the state, he returned to the North East in 1995 as operations manager in District 23, heavily involved in fire response across the Alpine district. Between 2007 and 2014, Mr Cook held senior leadership positions with Ambulance Victoria, including serving on the executive of the newly established organisation and staying with the CFA as a volunteer at the Tarrawingee fire brigade. He returned to CFA as assistant chief fire officer for the North East before being formally appointed as deputy chief officer in 2018 and chief fire officer earlier this week. Mr Cook said the biggest immediate challenge facing him would be the urgent renewal of much of the CFA’s fleet, which involves some tankers more than 30 years old and transitioning from single-cab to dual-cab tankers. “We know that we've got some work to do with our fleet—the age of some of our tankers—and we'll work really hard on that,” he said. “We've got some extra money coming through from the government to help with that, but we'll look to do more. “If you're on a crew and you've got to travel significant distances on the back of a fire truck before you start working, we'd clearly like to see that shift to dual cab tankers. “We turn out fire trucks every year, but what we're going to have to do is see a significant increase in the number of those being produced.” A parliamentary inquiry into the 2026 summer fires raised alarms over aging fleets and recommended fast-tracking the upgrades, which included a five-year rollout of 650 outdated single-cab tankers. Other issues highlighted throughout the inquiry included leadership vacancies and increasing volunteer demands on rural brigades. Volunteer firefighters have also raised concerns about funding and opposition to the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund and recently, questioning operational capabilities in response to potential renewable energy facility emergencies. Mr Cook said using his own volunteer background, he wanted to ensure firefighters across the state felt respected and heard. “What I want to do is make sure that our volunteers have got the best support that we can possibly provide to them so that they can effectively protect their communities… ultimately that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “People are doing it tough, so we want to make sure that we're supporting our volunteers through whatever circumstances they find themselves in so that they can continue to provide the support they do to their communities through their service with the CFA.” The organisation has been through sweeping changes in recent years, and Mr Cook has seen it all through his 40 years as a firefighter. While there was always angst that comes with change, Mr Cook said he would always look to embrace the technological advancements of firefighting, while guiding the volunteer workforce through it. “I've been around the organisation for a significant amount of time, I’ve seen phenomenal changes, and every time those changes occur there’s a level of angst that comes with it,” he said. “I can remember when we introduced personal protective clothing, that was seen as a waste of money by some people; now, when people join today, one of the first things they look for is their protective clothing. “I will listen to lots of people and take lots of advice, but I won't always respond to those who are speaking the loudest, that's just a respect thing. “We've got to progressively work through and prioritise where we can to make sure our people are getting the best that they can with what we've got to give them.” CFA CEO Greg Leach said the organisation was confident Mr Cook’s reputation for strategic leadership, operational excellence and his strong connection to CFA’s volunteers made him the ideal candidate to lead CFA through the upcoming high risk weather season and into the future. CFA chair Jo Plummer said Mr Cook lived and breathed the CFA values and was well equipped to lead the organisation into the summer season.

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