Friends remember the work of lifetime search and rescue volunteer Dan Cook

For 35 years, Coquitlam firefighter Dan Cook trekked, navigated, scoured and searched for wayward adventurers in the Tri-Cities backcountry.

Cook died on Friday, prompting an outpouring of condolences and reminiscences from friends and colleagues.

Cook, or “Cookie” to his friends, was instrumental in leading Coquitlam SAR when guesswork was a huge part of the job, recalled friend and fellow longtime volunteer Ian Cunnings.

Back when the only people with cellphones were stockbrokers, nobody looked for lost hikers until someone realized they were missing.

“If you were lost, we found about it usually on a weekend around dinnertime,” Cunnings said.

Once that first call was made, phones would ring at dinner tables across the Tri-Cities until a rescue team was assembled. And when Cook called, you answered.

“I remember getting a phone call from Dan for a missing hiker and he’d say: ‘Ian, I’m on my way to pick you up,’” Collings recalled. “And it wasn’t a question.”

It was often dark by the team was in position.

“We’d get a report of a vehicle and a trailhead and that’s all we’d have to go on,” Cunnings said.

In some cases they might have to dispatch teams to multiple trails in the hope someone would find a sign of the lost hiker. But Cook was determined.

“That dedication has stuck with me,” Cunnings said.

Cook had been working for District of Coquitlam Fire Department when he joined Coquitlam SAR in 1976 – four years after it was formed.

Part of Cook’s motivation was his appreciation of nature, according to Cunnings.

“As long as I’ve known the man, a love for the outdoors.”

Without reliable funding for search and rescue, Cook took a “roll-up-his-sleeves approach,” Cunnings recalled.

“That’s remained with the team today.”

An excellent navigator, Cook put together an orienteering program and was instrumental in the formation of the water rescue and rope rescue teams.

In 2011, Coquitlam honoured Cook and Cunnings for their service. The volunteers are each examples of the years of dedication contributed by many SAR members, explained Coquitlam Search and Rescue president Garry Mancell at the time.

“People are aware of the work we do during a search or rescue but they don’t hear about the hours spent training and honing our skills to be ready,” Mancell stated. “It is an honor to be a part of this team.”

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart extended his condolences to Cook’s family and friends in a social media post.

Stewart described Cook as “a very community-minded person, full of integrity.”

While he officially retired in 2011, Cook would still help out when he could, according to a Coquitlam SAR post.

Cunnings remembers him as a teacher and a mentor.

“Always looking at sharing his experiences with the new members who came on the team,” he said.

He maintained that same sense when it was time to tell a rescued hiker about the poor decisions that led to his getting lost.

“He was compassionate,” Cunnings said. “But he would make sure that you got the lesson learned.”