LYNN — Lt. Denis Ring, a firefighter for the city since 2005, is the Fire Department’s new public information officer.
As PIO, he said he collaborates with the media and runs the department’s social-media pages.
“I just want to see the department shown in a good light,” Ring, a lifelong Lynn resident, said. “My whole goal here is just to make sure that the public gets the right information.”
Running the department’s social-media accounts is something that he had already been doing for some time, he said. He started running them in 2018 after seeing other fire departments’ presence on social media.
“When I started doing that, that was a new thing for us, we’d never had social media before,” Ring said. “It’s a way to show the department in a positive light as well as get information out to the public, active real information.”
Ring said he also wanted to get ahead of the “rumor mill” that can be present on social media.
“I’d much rather see things get out there that are pertinent and honest,” Ring said.
Besides posting about fires in the city, he also posts fire-safety tips, traffic alerts, and weather warnings.
For the role of PIO, Ring has been taking classes through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which offers PIO courses. He will be taking more through the National Fire Academy, he said.
Ring said he is still working in his regular role as a line officer on Engine Five.
Being a firefighter is something that he wanted to do since he was a kid. Growing up, his dad would listen to the scanner and take him to fires scenes from time to time.
“Like any kid, it sparks your interest and I decided that when I got out of high school, that’s what I wanted to pursue,” he said.
To get his “foot in the door,” he became a dispatcher. That allowed him to learn about the experience of being a first responder, he said.
After dispatching, he became an EMT and worked for a private emergency-medical-services company. He then took the civil-service exam and joined the Fire Department in 2005.
“My enjoyment being a firefighter in general is helping the public,” Ring said.
The public calls 911 for the department’s assistance with more than just fires, he said.
“They’re calling for everything. Basically, if they’re not sure what to do, someone calls 911,” Ring said. “I like the fact that when we get there, even though we’re coming on probably what is that person’s worst day, we’re there to help.”
