Peg McNichol
The Oakland Press, Sterling Heights, Mich.
(TNS)
Aug. 21—Rochester Hills native Todd Gary is the city’s new chief of fire and emergency services, and Bill Cooke is the city’s new deputy fire chief.
Gary has worked for the department since 1981 and was named deputy fire chief in 2016. He succeeds former Fire Chief and Emergency Services Manager Sean Canto, who officially retired last week.
“It has been my honor to serve this community for the last 43 years, and I am excited about the opportunity to lead an outstanding group of men and women,” said Gary, who started his career as a paid on-call firefighter in Avon Township, which became Rochester Hills in 1984.
He briefly worked for his father Roger Gary, then a district chief, at Fire Station No. 5.
The younger Gary took a full-time dispatching job in 1986 before being hired as a full-time firefighter in 1987. By 1993, he was the township’s fire inspector. He achieved the rank of inspector/lieutenant in 1997 and then fire marshal status in 2001.
Gary has seen the demands of firefighters grow from Avon Township’s 1,055 calls in 1981 to the 9,000 firefighters respond to each year in Rochester Hills recently. Gary will supervise 78 staff members and five fire stations that serve the city’s 32 square miles.
Mayor Bryan K. Barnett called Gary “the ideal leader for our organization,” adding his 40 years of fire-service experience includes understanding the city’s needs and expectations.
“I am excited to watch our department grow under his leadership,” Barnett said.
“This is home,” Gary said. “I cannot say enough good things about this city and the people who live here. We also have a great team in the Rochester Hills Fire Department who pride themselves on providing the very best service.”
Cooke, the city’s assistant fire chief and fire marshal since 2017, joined the department in 1992.
He also started his career as a paid on-call firefighter before taking a full time job at Fire Station No. 1 in 1997. He made a brief foray to Colorado for a job in 1999 but returned four years later to be Rochester Hills’ fire marshal.
“I am so thankful for this opportunity and honored to work alongside Fire Chief Todd Gary to help shape the future of the Rochester Hills Fire Department,” said Cooke, who described himself as passionate about firefighting.
For more than 20 years, Cooke worked in the community risk reduction division, playing what city officials called “a vital role in the safe development of our community,” because in that capacity, he helped developers and inspectors with the fire-safety aspects of engineering and design.
Barnett said Cooke’s leadership and insights have “already had a tangible impact on both the department and the city, and our residents can rest assured that we have the very best fire professionals leading our department.”
Canto announced his retirement after 10 years as the city’s fire chief and emergency manager, on LinkedIn last week, writing in part, “It was my honor to serve the men and women of this organization. The Rochester Hills Fire Department has made great strides in the past 10 years. Keep it going. ‘Driven to be the best’.”
Barnett said the city will post an opening for an assistant fire chief and fire marshal. He expects some of the city’s firefighters will apply.
Promoting from within, he said, “shows there’s a path toward the future for growth and opportunity.
“That’s always the preference — but we always intend to pick the best people for the job. Internal people understand the culture. We hope we have the best people. It makes for incredible longevity.”
Originally Published: August 21, 2024 at 5:03 a.m.
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