News from the State Fire Marshal...

Dear Fire Service Professionals,

At the end of each fiscal year, we’re asked to gather our accomplishments for our Annual Report. This gives me some time to reflect on what all we’ve been able to do to advance the fire service and protect Ohioans. I take great pride in what we have achieved in FY16, and I’d like to share some of the highlights with you.

• We have heard time and time again that Ohio’s fire service needs accessible and affordable training to accommodate the busy schedule of our firefighters. The Ohio Fire Academy (OFA) continued to make more courses available through Direct Delivery to bring training to you, often times at no cost. The OFA also added more training trailers to its lineup to effectively bring hands-on courses to your area. The Division offered grants for training, including the very popular Firefighter I grant. This allowed firefighters to train to a high level at local fire charter schools for free.
  
  
• The Division also worked to bring better communication opportunities to Ohio’s fire departments by offering the MARCS grant. It is so imperative that firefighters can communicate with each other during an emergency response, and this grant helps promote interoperability in counties and regions of the state and helps take some of the financial burden off of fire departments and their governing bodies.
  
  
• The Fire Prevention Bureau spent time working with local fire departments to reduce the number of fire deaths in the state through the Safe & Sound campaign. After several years of decreasing, the number of fire deaths in the state increased, and we knew we had to do something. Fire Safety Educators were out and about supporting local fire departments, participating in smoke alarm canvassing events and educational outreach opportunities. These efforts resulted in a 27 percent reduction in fire deaths during the heating months, and we hope to bring that down even more this year.
  
  
• Our Code Enforcement Bureau and Fire & Explosion Investigation Bureau (FEIB) both worked tirelessly this past fiscal year to provide quality services to local fire departments. FEIB developed an after hour response protocol that allowed local jurisdictions to better understand the type of investigation request(s) that would prompt an immediate response, and the time frame in which the remainder of the request(s) would be handled. Code Enforcement focused on consistency across the four districts in Ohio to educate customers and other agencies on the processes and requirements facilities have to meet to allow for a more pleasant interaction and cost savings by reducing repeat inspections. Each bureau strives to bring you expertise in code-related issues and fire investigations, and I believe they served Ohio well. 

I am proud of my staff and all of the accomplishments we achieved in FY16, and I look forward to extending this great work into FY17. This work supports you, the men and women who are fighting fires on the front line. While many of the items above reference fire service related accomplishments, we have also worked to protect consumers and keep the “Safe, Sound and Secure.” This theme is scattered throughout our Annual Report, which I encourage you to read. It will not only give you a better understanding of the Division of State Fire Marshal, it will also give you insight into Commerce’s other six divisions, which have a bigger impact on your daily life than you may think!

Thank you for all of your continued work, and as always, please reach out to me with any feedback or questions.

Sincerely,

Larry L. Flowers
State Fire Marshal