You’ve likely heard about the Fire Marshal in reference to something negative happening. The public commonly associates the title of Fire Marshal with someone who shuts down a local bar for overcrowding or arrests someone for arson, but the Capital City Fire/Rescue Fire Marshal’s Office actually does a lot more.
Fire Marshals hold international certifications in fire inspection, and fire/arson and explosion investigation. There is one Fire Marshal and one Deputy Fire Marshal for the entire City and Borough of Juneau, which includes remote areas such as the mines for ensuring the minimum code requirements are being followed and for any fire investigations.
For some background, the first City Marshal was established in Juneau in 1901 and was responsible for enforcing criminal laws and be the point of contact for public safety. Over the decades, the roles and responsibilities have evolved though some concerns are timeless, like emergency apparatus access and water supply availability that are as challenging today as they were back then.
The CCFR Fire Marshal’s Office is one of the few deferred jurisdictions in Alaska with a broad authority to enforce the fire code with the ability to write citations, serve administrative and criminal search warrants with Juneau Police Department assistance, and pursue criminal charges for violators of fire and life safety codes and arson related crimes.
The Fire Marshal’s Office is the component of the fire service specifically designated to reduce the loss of life and property caused by fire through education and prevention. The Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshal interact almost daily with local, state and federal agencies, schools, businesses, elected officials and representatives of public and private industry. They conduct approximately 500 business inspections, fire alarm and fire sprinkler system inspections and investigate over 50 fire incidents of various types each year using their knowledge in chemistry, criminal law/investigation procedures and forensics. They review commercial building plans for fire and life safety compliance and fire alarm and fire sprinkler system installation and testing.
Fire Marshals do a lot. Here are some other responsibilities: They are emergency responders that are trained as firefighters and emergency medical technicians. They are required to be well-versed and knowledgeable in all aspects of the fire department, building construction and fire behavior. They provide all hazards safety education to a broad audience ranging from preschool to elderly adult groups, so if you have any general fire safety questions, give the Fire Marshal’s Office a call at 586-5322.
(This originally appeared in the January 15, 2018 Juneau Empire in a segment called, “City Corner”).