abstract
| - A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a fire department but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshal's duties vary but usually include fire code enforcement and/or investigating fires for origin and cause. Fire marshals may be sworn law-enforcement officers and are often experienced firefighters. A fire marshal's duties vary by location. Fire marshals may carry a weapon, wear a badge, and make arrests pertaining to arson and related offenses, or, in other localities, may have duties entirely separate from law enforcement, including building- and fire-code-related inspections. In many states and provinces, the fire marshal is responsible for enforcing laws concerning flammable materials. The US definition of a fire marshal should not be confused with that of the UK. Fire marshals, sometimes known as fire wardens in the UK, are civilians trained to assist in fire safety procedures at businesses and other organizations, usually employees.. However, UK fire and rescue services - FRS - do provide fire marshal training, aimed at fire prevention. In the UK, the senior fire officer is responsible for firefighting operations, and cases of arson are investigated by the police. No UK FRS has fire officers with powers of arrest, although some FRS do have their own specialist fire investigation teams, who act as expert witnesses. Also in the UK Fire Inspecting officers (Fire Safety Officers) enforce legislative fire safety law, and whilst they are unable to make an arrest they can place subjects under caution and prosecute anyone who has failed to comply with fire safety laws. They also have the authority to close unsafe premises and investigate any actual perceived fire safety offence.
|