What’s the difference between them -

Fire Marshal,

Fire Inspector

Fire Chief?

 

After years in the trades, I asked myself this same question one day, and, I didn’t know the answer. Next, I asked; who does what, when it comes to various fire related issues. I researched the topic online and got nowhere. I entered my questions in several different ways and came up with the same results over and over.

So –

I called some other contractors I know and posed the same question to them. There response; "I'm not quite sure."

Then -

I called our local fire department hoping to find some answers. I kind of felt guilty, since I know that they can be really busy, and their work is not only important, but critical. I sure didn’t want to interfere in any way. I got lucky; I was put through to the Chief. I explained that I was trying to write a story on the difference between these positions to help craftsmen get a better understanding of this, and was having no luck. He made some time to help me out, and this is what I learned:

The “Chief” is the head authority over ALL divisions within a given “Department” or “Organization”. You might call him or her the “Commanding Officer”.

Now; this is where it gets a little fuzzy. There can be several dynamics at work in any given jurisdiction.
To name a few:
1. The budget
2. The size of the Department.
3. The education level of a given individual
4. Whether or not a person is available to fill the spot

Within a fire department, there are different “Divisions”, one may be a “Fleet Division”, and another may be the “Training Division” one an “Operations Division” and one the “Prevention Division”. If you drew a diagram of this with one name at the top, that name would be the “Chief”. Move down just below that name and from the left to the right, draw a series of columns. Let’s designate the left column as the “Operations” column. The name at the top of that column would be the supervisor or “Deputy Chief” in charge of that division. Follow that line of thinking all the way across the page columns to the last column on the right, putting a name at the top of each column (each name designating the Deputy Chief of that specific division). Under each of those names, would be other names; individuals who are the ones responsible for the carrying out of specific duties within their specific division.

Let’s go to the “Prevention Division”. You would have a name at the top of that column who would be the “Fire Marshal”, and under that name, one of those in that column would be the “Fire Inspector”. The “Fire Inspector” answers to the “Fire Marshal” and the “Fire Marshal” answers to the “Chief”.

In a large department, each of these “Deputy Chiefs” has a specific role to fill and none of them will necessarily answer to any of the other “Deputy Chiefs”, each will answer directly to the “Chief”.

Let’s muddy this up a little –

If you have a small Fire Department, one person may wear several different hats, simply because the different divisions still technically exist and need to be handled as such, but there just isn’t enough money or manpower. In this case, a division or portion thereof may be contracted out to another department that has someone who can step in and partially fill the shoes that need filling, but will cost less than creating a full time position within the smaller department.

-A little muddier

You may have a person in charge of one division who has a specific education and a degree that qualifies him or her to function in a given “capacity” - and, because of their education or certifications, may have more responsibility and authority in that position. Let’s say that the position of “Fire Marshal” is a position that is filled in a particular fire department large enough to warrant an actual person besides the Chief. This individual has a degree in Fire Systems Engineering. That person may do the inspections of the fire systems in new construction, i.e.; a building that is not yet occupied by the new business or tenants. If the department is not quite large enough to have an additional person in the Fire Inspector position, he or she may also fill the shoes of the Fire Inspector, who would have the responsibility of “existing” structures; those buildings that already have people in them.

Part of the Fire Inspector’s duties will be to inspect these businesses to see if they are conforming to fire safety standards, issue reports, and may issue fines for non-conformance; violation of specific regulations. If the department is large enough and has the need for two people, they may separate out the two positions and then the Fire Marshal and Fire Inspector will manage their respective duties, with the Fire Marshal being at the top spot of that division.

Ok, let’s say that the Fire Marshal leaves that position, and the department needs to put someone else in that spot. The new person may not have the same level of education or experience but may still be called the “Fire Marshal” - in that particular department.

See where this is going? Sometimes there are two people that have different qualifications but still have the same title. Sometimes, the only difference is what a department deems a person to be. They find themselves in need of a person to fill the specific role, In that case, a Fire Marshal may not necessarily be qualified to inspect new fire safety systems, but will still have the Fire Marshal title and be able to function in that role in the other areas.

Reduce the size of a department even further and you may have the Chief wearing multiple hats, simply because he or she has to. So there you have it. I hope it’s not too fuzzy, foggy or muddy, but the bottom line is that each Fire Department has to determine its needs, its ability to meet those needs, and who will fill the roles necessary to protect the public, the overall structure and divisions are still there but certain individuals within the department may have to wear multiple hats. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to your local fire department.