Gareth Cook assumed the role of borough commander at Harrow Fire Station on July 6.
The 42-year-old joined the London Fire Brigade in 1997 aged 21. He served as a firefighter and junior officer at Hillingdon, Paddington and North Kensington fire stations before transferring to Avon Fire and Rescue in 2006.
Gareth was stationed in Bristol and Bath before returning to London in 2014 as station manager. He worked at headquarters, Islington and more recently as a support officer for North West London before becoming Harrow’s borough commander.
Gareth Cook
As commander Gareth is responsible for personnel, the people of Harrow and for the London Fire Brigade’s relationships in the borough.
His family are from North Wales and Canada. Gareth said: “I have strong ties to Wales and you often find me watching the rugby or walking in Snowdonia to relax and defuse.”
Speaking about his life in the service, Gareth said: “I came from a difficult upbringing and the fire service has allowed me to progress to where I am today.
“It gave me an equal chance and that makes me so proud of the organisation. It’s a great place to work.
“The job can be extremely hard, but it can also be extremely rewarding. I have served at every rank operationally and that gives me a good understanding of the challenges my firefighters and officers face daily.”
Southwark training centre 1997
Gareth went on to say he is “fiercely proud” of his colleagues who he described as “exceptional people” who all want to make a difference.
“I consider it a great honour to be trusted to lead them. If anybody reading this is considering a career in the fire service, do it, you’ll never look back.”
Gareth said a proud moment happened recently when during an open day on July 7 Charlie McNamee (one of his officer’s sons) aged nine helped him with demonstrations. “Seeing the effect it had on him and his family was priceless. That’s the beauty of the fire brigade - you constantly get the opportunity to give something back.”
With Charlie McNamee at the Harrow Fire Station open day this year
Gareth also said he had seen his share of difficult times in his career: “I have lost two incredibly good friends during my service and that’s been very hard. However, when I took over at Harrow one of my friend’s widows messaged me to say how proud he would of been.
“That drives me forward, remembering how dedicated they were to keeping Londoners safe and how I am privileged enough to carry on their good work.”
Outside of work Gareth said he has been a successful artist selling Moto GP artwork, he has also sung and played guitar in bands and even recorded an album.
He loves to travel and has visited nearly 40 countries including Nepal where he reached Everest base camp in 2017, watched IPL cricket in Mumbai and visited Red Square in Moscow.
Paddington Fire Station 2000
Gareth said he loves heights but dislikes deep water, adding: “It’s ridiculous really as all of my great uncles were at sea for most of their careers in either the merchant or Royal Navy.”
Speaking about his new role, Gareth said: “I have had some excellent predecessors in Harrow, so I am looking forward to carrying on and building upon the excellent work that’s gone before me.
“I also have an operational role and can be called upon to attend larger incidents. I will attend to support officers running larger incidents and when the incident requires eight fire engines or more I will take command of the incident.”
Harrow’s fire service will host another open day on September 2 this time at Stanmore Fire Station from 12pm to 4pm.
To book a free home fire safety visit www.london-fire.gov.uk
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