State Fire Marshal

[bigmac58]

I've searched the forums for this topic but haven't come up with many answeres. Has anyone here ever applied to their State Fire Marshal's Office? I am thinking of applying to mine and was curious of the hiring steps after the test. I've been able to only find limited information on their process. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeremy

[DeltaV]

If being with the state fire marshal's office is anything like being a local fire marshal, you've got to have a pretty substantial amount of experience as a firefighter before they'll accept your application.

Locally, the fire marshals here all come from within the fire department. In addition to enforcing fire codes, they also are members of the area's arson task force. It's considered a promotion at the FD and it's a pretty competitive position. While they technically have some LE authority, they don't carry firearms and usually take one of us with them if they are going somewhere where they anticipate problems. Their LE training is extremely limited.

[bigmac58]

I think this job is slightly different than what you described. Locally, the fire department does have an arson investigator whith the authority you describe. Our State Fire Marshal is an independent agency and employs Assistant Fire Marshal's who do have full arrest powers within the scope of their jobs and are armed (although many don't carry the weapons issued). This agency is not a large agency and competititon is heavy as with all LE jobs, although I've not heard anyone in my FD or any others who have an interest in the job. Currently I meet the minimum qualifications to test for the position. I'm a member of my county's fire investigation team and hopefully through them I can gain more investigation experience as well. As a sidenote, I will continue to pursue "regular" LE jobs as well. I really appreciate your answer and help.

Thanks,

Jeremy

[dkatz]

I know in Massachusetts, the state fire marshals are state troopers from the fire and explosion unit. I'm sure its different in different states.

[Ken K]

In Iowa the investigators are full blown LEO's and a division of the DPS. Often their openings are filled from other divisions, like the State Patrol.

Application process the same as for State Patrol or DCI. ALso DPS academy like the rest.

Many applicants do come out of a fire background here but alas I have worked with some that get their origin/cause training after they are on. Takes some time to come to speed.

I love their authority here. They carry a pad of subpoenas for records and can swear in witnesses for a Fire Marshal hearing.

[bigmac58]

I'm not sure where most of the applicants come from here in WV. The Fire Marshal does fall under the same State Department as our State Police (Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety), however, I don't think the State Police fills many of the openings since they are two autonomous agencies. My dad was friends with one of the Assistant State Fire Marshals who has since passed away so I can't ask him any of the questions but he came from a paid FD that he retired from then went to the Fire Marshal's Office. I'll leave it open to speculation, but my FD Chief says the Fire Marshal loses many investigators to private industry due to the pay difference. Also, the Fire Marshal's office has created a new position within their agency called Assistant State Fire Marshal in Training. It used to only be Assistant State Fire Marshal 1 or 2 that they tested for. To me it sounds like they are having difficulty filling their openings when they occur so they have created this classification to train their own. Like in Iowa, the Fire Marshals here have full arrest powers within the scope of the laws they enforce. Also, they can seek and execute search and arrest warrants.