What Does a Fire Marshal Do?

You may remember Jim Carrey’s colorful Fire Marshal Bill character from the sketch show In Living Color, but for many of us, we don’t know what a fire marshal actually does with his or her day.

Here are a few of the basic elements of the job:

• Fire Investigation: The fire marshal analyzes the scene of a fire or explosion to ensure the building was compliant with legal codes and that the fire was not an instance of arson. Fire marshals tend to spend more time and energy, as you can imagine, on fires resulting in death or injury and in significant destruction of property, which is more typical to fires occurring in commercial and governmental facilities.
• Flammables Detection: The marshal looks at the fire pattern – a basic map of where the fire started and how it spread over time. In so doing, the marshal pays special attention to the presence of any gas, explosives, and flammables using a variety of detection methods.
• Match Flame Test: The fire marshal uses the match flame test for any materials that may have triggered a fire. The test involves holding a match half an inch away from the substance for twelve seconds to see if it ignites.