Cook Fire Department (2025)
Current Personnel
- Fire Chief
- Pete Johnson
- Assistant Chief
- Brian Gramling
- Current Firefighters (Alphabetically)
- Will Fisher
- Sam Grahn
- Brian Gramling
- Tim Mankowski
- Tom Musech
- Troy Simpson
- Jon Pylka
- Dan Reing
- Ross Gramling
- Pete Niska
- Jesse Scofield
- Shane Johnson
Past Fire Chiefs
- Wayne Stenbeck (served until 1979, appointed by the Cook Village Council in 1937)
- Reynold “Ray” Gustason (served until 1988, joined in 1940, became Chief in 1945)
- After the tragic fire in 1945, Ray was tasked with reorganizing the department.
- Edren Hyppa (served until 1999, joined in 1950, became Chief after Ray Gustason)
- Edren was also the manager of the Pajari Maytag store, now known as the Montana Cafe.
- Richard Fox (owner of Fox Hardware)
- John Musech (Assistant Chief)
- Don Simonson (Assistant Chief)
- Frank Hyppa (Assistant Chief)
- Dennis Rinne (served until 2010, employed at Mintac)
- Arne Johnson (retired employee of the DWP railroad section crew)
- Tim Picek (Assistant Chief, owner of Secure Vault and Luxury Limousine Service)
Retired Firefighters
- Tom Bakk
- Don Baumgartner
- Willis Beatty
- Jim Boutto
- Clayton Carlson
- Jake Cayo
- Pat Clune
- Paul Fallos
- Bill Fischer
- Duane Fitzimmons
- Richard Fox (Chief)
- Knute Fuller
- Joe Germ
- David Grebenc
- Kenneth Gustason
- Ray Gustason (Chief)
- Gust Gustafson
- John K. Gustafson
- Aaron Hall
- Clyde Hendy
- Matt Hoffmann
- Edren Hyppa (Chief)
- Frank Hyppa (Assistant Chief)
- Sev Karni
- Walfred Kehus
- Charles “Chuck” Knapp
- Kenneth Leding
- John Lindberg
- Pastor Dennis Morriem
- John Musech (Chief)
- Douglas Nakari
- Wayne Nelmark (Chief)
- Mike Popelka
- Kirsten Reichel
- Dennis Rinne (Chief)
- Ray Ronning
- Henry Saari
- Wayne Stenbeck (Chief)
- Don Simonson (Chief)
- Ray Wilkinson
Fire Halls
The Cook Fire Department has had several locations for storing its firefighting equipment over the years:
- 1946: One of the first places was a small garage behind the old Anderson Store, which Mike Picek later owned.
- 1948: A new City Hall and Library with three stalls for the Fire Department were constructed. The library now occupies those original stalls.
- 1992: On October 16, the present Fire Hall was opened, providing a modern space for the department.
Notable Fires in Cook
Over the years, the Cook Fire Department has responded to several significant fires, including:
- 1945 (May 20): A fire at Herman Kjellberg’s home tragically killed his wife and three sons, with only one child surviving.
- 1959 (January 8): Walter Miller’s Food Liner Grocery store was destroyed by fire.
- 1977 (May 10): Johnson’s One Stop, a large marina business, was destroyed.
- 1977 (May 12): Idington Town Hall was torched.
- 1978 (May 8): The BIC building, a real estate business, was destroyed.
- 1979 (January 20): Ardin’s Hotel and Denny’s Cafe burned down. Unfortunately, issues with the alarm system delayed the response.
- 1980 (January 27): A mobile home fire claimed the lives of Howard Lindsay and Shirley Wells.
- 1980 (February 9): The historic Musakka log house was destroyed by arson.
- 1989 (September 28): The Vos Resort lodge was destroyed by fire. Cook firefighters arrived quickly but were unable to save the lodge.
- 1994 (October 4): The Northern Farmers Co-op store burned down, taking the building and the credit union with it.
- 2000 (January 22): The Amundson Apartment Building, formerly the Heiam Hospital, burned down.
- 2000 (September 7): The Country Supper Club, built in 1936, was destroyed by fire.
- 2003 (February 10): The Clark’s IGA grocery store, the last grocery store in downtown Cook, was destroyed by fire.