JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 As she sits in her office in downtown Jacksonville, Chief M. Dallas Cooke is mindful of the moment she\u2019s living in.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s the first Black female division chief in the history of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department \u2014 a title that carries both honor and responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cGratitude. I\u2019m thankful. I\u2019m so humbled,\u201d Cooke said. \u201cBut I also think about a bigger picture \u2014 this is bigger than me. Me holding this position is one that\u2019s for the community. It\u2019s for the future firefighters that look like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long road from teen mom to chief<\/p>\n
Cooke calls her journey a long road.<\/p>\n
She became a teen mom during her senior year of high school. With a child depending on her, every decision carried extra weight.<\/p>\n
She commuted back and forth from Clay County to Orlando, eventually earning her bachelor\u2019s degree from the University of Central Florida and becoming a licensed practical nurse.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter was looking at me. She was watching me,\u201d she said. \u201cShe was one of the biggest reasons why I couldn\u2019t let obstacles get in my way. I had to keep pushing. I had to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding a new calling in emergency rooms and fire halls<\/p>\n
Working in the emergency room, Cooke realized she wanted to do even more.<\/p>\n
In 2009, she joined Jacksonville Fire and Rescue as a firefighter, beginning a 17\u2011year rise through the ranks. Along the way, she earned a master\u2019s degree and later began working toward her Doctor of Nursing Practice.<\/p>\n
She balanced it all \u2014 school, work, motherhood and a growing leadership role in the department.<\/p>\n
Pushing through unimaginable loss<\/p>\n
In 2015, while pursuing her doctorate, Cooke\u2019s life was forever changed. Her mother was murdered \u2014 a loss that shook her family to its core.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was probably the toughest mental and emotional battle that I have ever had to fight. Legitly,\u201d Cooke said. \u201cGrief does not just disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
What carried her through, she said, was the example her mother set.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a strong mom,\u201d Cooke said. \u201cJust the level of discipline that she instilled in me was my strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
Determined to honor her mother\u2019s memory, Cooke kept going \u2014 graduating, becoming a nurse practitioner, caring for patients in the hospital, saving lives as a firefighter, and balancing life as a wife and mother.<\/p>\n
Making history at Jacksonville Fire and Rescue<\/p>\n
In 2025, her perseverance met opportunity.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan officially appointed Cooke as Division Chief of Fire Rescue, making her the first Black woman in JFRD history to hold the title.<\/p>\n
To Fire Chief Percy Golden, her promotion is about more than a position.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, it means progress,\u201d Golden said.\u201cChief Cooke, she fits right in. She\u2019s not a pushover, she knows her job. She\u2019s respected on this job as well. And she holds her own. There\u2019s no room that she feels uncomfortable in \u2014 and that\u2019s what I like about her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mentoring the next generation<\/p>\n
Cooke also serves as a mentor to many women in the department and is intentional about being visible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started in this career 17 years ago, there were not a lot of women that looked like me,\u201d she said. \u201cEven through fire academy, there were not a lot of women that looked like me. It was important for me to not only be there for women, but to be there for women who looked like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
For her, this promotion is proof that representation matters \u2014 and a reminder that the work isn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n
\u201cProgress isn\u2019t just about being the first,\u201d Cooke said. \u201cIt\u2019s about making sure that I\u2019m not the last person that looks like me to sit in leadership roles like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaping care across Jacksonville<\/p>\n
Beyond making history, Cooke is reshaping how care is delivered across Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
She helped launch a program in 2023 to protect vulnerable residents, and now oversees advanced rescue teams delivering critical care citywide \u2014 expanding the department\u2019s reach far beyond traditional emergency calls.<\/p>\n
For Cooke, every title and every promotion comes back to the same core mission: service, community and opening doors for those who will come after her.<\/p>\n
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