Larry Ringering Dies, Remembered For Longtime First Responder Work, Had Impact On Many Lives

EAST ALTON - Retired longtime East Alton Fire Chief and Madison County Emergency Management Director Larry Ringering died Friday morning. Ringering is being recalled with respect for his work as a first responder and person he was to everyone around him.

Larry Ringering is the father of Godfrey Capt. Jake Ringering, who died after a wall collapsed in March 2019. Larry was a longtime member of the East Alton Fire Department and chief and when he retired there, he became the Madison County Emergency Management coordinator.

Brendan McKee, now the Edwardsville Fire Department deputy chief, was a long-time Wood River firefighter and chief. He worked alongside Larry frequently at fires.

“Larry Ringering was an excellent fire chief and very dedicated to his profession,” McKee said. “He was a great incident commander and thought a lot about his personnel. He tried to keep everybody safe. He also advanced the Madison County Emergency Management agency a tremendous amount during his time there. I was fire chief in Wood River and worked several fires with him.”

East Alton Fire Chief Tim Quigley said Larry Ringering was “a very good person,” and great fire chief and coordinator of the Madison County Emergency Management team.

“Larry was also a good instructor,” Quigley said. “No one ever had a bad thing to say about Larry. He devoted his life to first service and will always be remembered.”

Former East Alton Fire Chief Randy Nelson, now the city treasurer, said he had a long association with Larry.

“Larry did some amazing work in his fire and emergency management career,” Nelson said. He had a great career in East Alton with almost 30 years of experience. I know the loss of his son, Jake, was incredibly tough on him. Larry trained a lot of the younger firefighters.”

Nelson said overall, Larry Ringering will always be remembered for the impact he had on not only East Alton but the entire region after his role as head of Madison County Emergency Management.

Black bunting draped across the garage doors at the East Alton Fire Department Friday afternoon.

Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.

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