Pete Piringer, who has been the Public Information Officer (PIO) for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) for more than a decade, was honored with the Politano Lifetime Achievement Award at the PIO symposium in Florida on Friday.
Piringer has an extensive history of service with fire departments, beginning with the College Park Volunteer Fire Department in 1969. In 1986, he received the prestigious “Gold Medal of Valor” from Prince George’s County for rescuing a man from a burning car following a crash on the Capital Beltway, prior to the arrival of emergency responders. Additionally, he has been honored as Firefighter of the Year and named the City of College Park’s “Volunteer Firefighter of the Year,” among other accolades.
Piringer transitioned from Prince George’s County to serve as a public information officer for the Maryland State Police for a few years. In 2001, he became the spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS). In 2009, he left Montgomery County to pursue an opportunity with the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. After three years in D.C., he took on the role of head of the City of Laurel’s office of communications, where he worked for two years before returning to MCFRS in 2014.
The Florida Association of Public Information Officers shared the following, “Please join us in celebrating our friend, @mcfrsPIO for receiving the Politano Lifetime Achievement Award during today’s PIO Symposium. Pete, PIO for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue, travels the country teaching PIO’s @FEMA_NDEMU classes. You are a gem, Pete. Congratulations!”
