Richard Cook has been named the new chief of the Roanoke Rapids Fire Department, the city said in a statement Thursday evening.
Currently Assistant Chief of Operations since 2019, Cook will become chief effective Sunday, City Manager Kelly Traynham said.
“I’m excited,” Cook, a Roanoke Rapids area native, said this morning. “Former Chief Jason Patrick raised the bar pretty high for us but I’m going to do the best I can, pick up the torch, and try to carry it on.”
Cook said he doesn’t have any immediate plans for moving the department forward. “Chief Patrick had this place where it was like a fine-tuned machine so I don’t really see a whole lot of change. I feel like we just continue the direction he had us moving in.”
Response to the news has been positive, he said. “I’ve gotten a whole lot of congratulations. I haven’t seen all the guys. We’ve had one shift since then but I’ve gotten a whole lot of texts and a whole lot of phone calls.”
He said he isn’t sure what gave him the edge. “I hope they had an idea of the type of person I was. I do know out of all of the applicants here they could have picked any one of them and I know we would have gone forward just fine.”
Cook has been on the administrative side of the fire department for six years. “I’ve worked alongside Chief Patrick. I’ve tried to be a sponge and learn what he was willing to teach me. Anything I wanted to know and everything I tried to learn, he was a wealth of knowledge and he’s very committed to the fire service and this department.”
There will be some changes, namely picking a successor to Cook’s current position. “We have one part-time position in the office. We have one part-time position that we just vacated. We’ll definitely have to promote and I hope to promote from within.”
Cook is pleased with the current staff he will be working with as chief. “They’re top-notch. We’ve got a good group of men. They come in, they work hard. I don’t see that changing. I’m hoping this will be a seamless change.”
Traynham said Cook has served the community for more than two decades. He progressed through the ranks as a firefighter, engineer, lieutenant, and battalion chief before becoming Assistant Chief of Operations.
His operational leadership spans fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, EMS support, and incident command. “He brings experience in policy development, budgeting, training, and personnel management that will serve the department and city well,” Traynham said.
He holds multiple North Carolina certifications including Level II Firefighter, Emergency Rescue Technician, Driver/Operator — Pumps and Aerials — Level II Fire Instructor, Fire Officer I and II, Chief 101, and EMT-B and remains active in the regional fire service community.
He is a past president of the Halifax County Fire Association (2020 through 2024) and has taught at the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo in 2024 and 2025.
A brief swearing-in will be held at the City Council's Tuesday meeting at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Lloyd Andrews City Meeting Hall at 700 Jackson Street.
Traynham added, “We extend our appreciation to those who have provided dedicated leadership during the transition, especially to our Assistant Chief of Prevention/Fire Marshal Kenneth Hollowell.”
