Growing up in the fire service, Chief Ronald Jon Siarnicki joined the volunteer fire service at sixteen, but knew that he wanted to serve as a career firefighter. In 1978, he became a career firefighter in Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department and worked his way up to Chief of Department. After 20 years of service with the department, he knew that he needed to start planning his life after the fire department. That’s when he found an opportunity to serve as Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
Chief Ronald Jon Siarnicki
Chief Ronald “Ron” Jon Siarnicki began his career as a firefighter with the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department in 1978 and, over 24 years, progressed through the ranks to Chief of the Department. In this position, he served as the Chief Executive Officer responsible for the fire, rescue and emergency medical services of Prince George’s County, Maryland. While with the Department, he also served on the Joint Fire and Police Pension Board for four years.
Prior to joining the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department, he served as a volunteer firefighter with the Monessen Volunteer Fire Department, Hose House #2, in western Pennsylvania. In doing so, he followed a family tradition-both his father and grandfather were volunteer firefighters.
In July 2001, he retired from the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department to take the position of Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). In this role, he managed the day-to-day operations of the Foundation to include the National Memorial Services, construction of the National Memorial Park and the renovation of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Chapel located in Emmitsburg, Maryland. In addition, he created the catalyst for the development of innovative training to reduce the number of firefighter line-of-duty deaths that occur each year in the United States. Chief Siarnicki retired from the NFFF in December 2023.
In recognition of his outstanding leadership in the fire service, he has been recognized by various groups and organizations to include: The Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award, Alan Brunacini Fire Services Executive Safety Award from the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Metropolitan Fire Chiefs’ Presidents Award of Distinction, University of Maryland, University College Distinguished Alumnus, American Burn Association’s Moncrief Award and the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Silver Medal of Valor.
A strong proponent of higher education, he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and served as a UMUC faculty member for the Fire Science Curriculum.
View All VideosYou may also like
Dr. Denise Smith describes the bright future and the change in the fire service over the last ten years, with the adoption of evidence-based research and the available FIRE ACT grant funding. These partnerships and resources help them better serve their communities and being safe and on the...
Bill Webb discusses how much the fire service has changed and about the passion many have to keep our firefighters safe. He urges all firefighters who want to be great leaders, no matter what their rank, to keep pursing education and be accountable for their actions.
Sudden cardiac events are the leading cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths, but it also leads to early retirements and non-fatal events on the fireground or during operations. Dr. Smith’s works to detect cardiovascular disease and managing the risk factors we can decrease the burden of...
Chief Ronald Jon Siarnicki recalls a call from early in his career as a fire officer, where a victim was trapped in a well. Not only did that incident involve an out of the box solution, but it involved a great deal communication with the victim, and later on with the rescuers when they reviewed...
Add comment