Plano (Texas) Fire Chief William Peterson will retire at the end of January and become a regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a city official said Wednesday.

Peterson, who has headed Plano’s fire department since November 1982, accepted a White House offer to become Director of Region VI for FEMA beginning Jan. 30.

Peterson recently served as the international president of the Institution of Fire Engineers, the first American and only the third non-Brit to hold the office. He is a founding member of the U.S./U.K. Fire Service Symposium, an annual meeting to review, explore and enhance global alternatives for the fire service.

Peterson has participated in courses at the National Fire Academy and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. In addition, he has served as an author of fire service publications, as an instructor of fire science courses, and as a member of national planning and standards committees. In 2000, he was FIRE CHIEF magazine's Career Chief of the Year.

City officials said an interim chief will be appointed in the next few weeks to lead the department while a national search is conducted for Peterson's replacement.