Preston Landry appointed as Gonzales Fire Chief

Longtime Gonzales firefighter Preston Landry was unanimously approved as Gonzales Fire Chief tonight after a provisional appointment to the post in August. Mayor Tim Riley recommended Landry to the temporary job after Tracey Normand left Gonzales to head Louisiana’s Fire and Emergency Training Academy in 2025. Having served side-by-side with Chief Normand for nearly two decades, Assistant Chief Preston Landry was the obvious successor for the top job.

“It is a great honor to recommend Preston to this important post protecting the City of Gonzales, all of our citizens and businesses,” Mayor Riley said of Landry’s appointment. “We all appreciate his years of dutiful service and his commitment to making Gonzales Fire Service the best it can possibly be.”

Chief Landry joined the Gonzales Volunteer Fire Department as a Junior Firefighter in 1996 at the age of 16. He was promoted to Firefighter upon his 18^th birthday and had attained the rank of Captain.   In 2001, when Gonzales began to convert its volunteer department into a career department, he became one of the first 6 full-time firefighters hired by the city.  Chief Landry was promoted to District Fire Chief in March 2008 and Assistant Chief in March 2016.  He has been a licensed Paramedic since 2004. In 2013, he earned his Fire Science Degree from LSU-Eunice.

Chief Landry is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Ascension Fire Chiefs Association, represents the City of Gonzales on the Ascension Parish 9-1-1 Communications District Board, and sits on the Louisiana Bureau of EMS Task Force.  He is also an active member of the Louisiana Fire Chief’s Association and Louisiana State Fireman’s Association.

Civil Service rules precluded Landry’s elevation to the permanent post, thus his provisional appointment in August.

Chief Landry and a group of others took the Fire Chief’s test in December, a passing grade prerequisite to eligibility for the job.