By Chief Ron Siarnicki, Executive Director, NFFF
As a third-generation firefighter with 45 years of fire/rescue and EMS operational experience, I’ve been a part of multiple command changes—from shift changes in a firehouse to leadership hand-offs at fire scenes. They’re a pivotal part of our work, and now it’s time for me to take part in another one as I announce that I will be retiring as the Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF).
Leading this organization for 21 years has been an incredible honor, an enormous part of my daily life, and much more than a job—it’s been my passion. And while I have happily embraced this role, there is no doubt that it is also a demanding one. Firefighters work around the clock, and tragedy can strike anytime. We take our job supporting Fire Hero Families and departments seriously, and this work happens 24/7. My passion for the fire service will never lessen – but after 50 years, I’ve missed a lot of nights, weekends, and events at home. It’s time for me to pull back a bit. My wife and family are ready for that, and as you can imagine—so am I.
My time in this role has been marked by great sadness for the incredible heroes we’ve lost along the way—343 firefighters on 9/11, 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters in the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013, 11 firefighters from five departments in the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas in 2013, nine firefighters killed in the Charleston (SC) warehouse fire —in fact, we remember every single firefighter from different incidents across many years. At NFFF, we’ve always said we can’t control those tragedies, but we can control what happens once they’ve occurred. So I leave this role very proud because we have helped and continue to help so many families to be able to move forward. It’s painful but essential work, and it’s been my privilege to be a part of that.
I am so immensely proud of this organization and all it does. I was the fifth employee to join NFFF in July 2001. At that time, we were working in a small conference room in Emmitsburg, and we all did everything—from marketing and development to supporting family programs and building corporate relationships. From that, we’ve grown into an organization with talented and committed senior leadership and a passionate team of 30+ who constantly expand our programs, reach, and impact.
The people who work here are special—they are deeply committed to honoring more than 100 fallen firefighters each year at our annual Memorial Weekend, which took place October 8 and 9 this year. They work hard to raise funds to support various grief and behavioral counseling and survivor support programs from Memorial Weekend to Stair Climbs, Family Wellness conferences, scholarships for family members, our Hal Bruno children’s summer camps, and so much more. I am also proud of our work as a leading voice and partner in line-of-duty death reduction efforts through programs like Everyone Goes Home® and a variety of other policy and advocacy approaches. This organization is strong, with stable leadership and incredibly talented staff to take us into the next chapter.
So who will the next executive director be? The Board of Directors will be launching a search soon and I’ve been asked to take part in this effort, which I’m honored and delighted to do. The Board has also crafted a long-term plan for this command change to ensure its success. I will stay in my current role until early 2023 and remain a full-time NFFF employee until December 2023. At that point, I’ll transition to a part-time consultant and advisor and continue supporting new leadership in any way they need.
For me, this is bittersweet. It feels very much like when I left my role as Fire Chief of the Prince George’s County Fire Department to come to NFFF. You’re ready to let go of the daily requirements of the job, but boy, will you miss the people you work with every day. It’s been my great honor to interact every day with the incredible men and women of the NFFF staff, our Fire Hero Families, and members of the fire service across this country—all of who have and will continue to be such an important part of my life. As I prepare to pass the torch, I think about my parents, who always taught me to leave things better than I found them. I know I am doing that, and I believe it was possible because I could work and collaborate with all of you. Thank you. And please know—as I prepare for this, my latest Command Change, I am entering it feeling proud, satisfied, grateful, and blessed.
