Fire Marshal's Office
The Fire Marshal's Office is staffed by experienced, full time personnel under the direction of Division Chief Paul Smith. The Fire Marshals Office is responsible for a broad range of activities related to making and keeping our community a safer place in which to work, shop, live and visit. These activities include commercial plan reviews, fire safety inspections, fire safety education and fire investigations. The Fire Marshal's Office is charged with conducting fire and life safety inspections to protect the infrastructure of our community and the lives of our citizens through enforcement of the laws and regulations governing fire safety.
Commercial Plan Reviews
Commercial plan reviews are performed on all construction projects in the City to help ensure the International Fire Code and other fire and life safety concerns and laws are identified and corrected. The staff reviews all site plans, commercial construction plans, commercial remodels, fire protection system plans, plans for the installation of storage tanks, subdivision layouts and many other types of plans and issues letters of correction and permits as needed. The goal is to identify and correct problems while they are still lines on paper, while they can be easily and inexpensively corrected. Inspectors from the Fire Marshal's Office begin inspections of new construction projects very early and check on the projects frequently during the construction phase.
Fire Safety Inspections
The Fire Marshal and his staff conduct fire safety inspections throughout the year. Pre-fire planning walkthroughs are also conducted by in-service engine companies through out the City. A strong effort is made to have every business in the City checked on an annual basis by either an Inspector from the Fire Marshal's Office or an in service engine company crew. The purpose of these inspections is to identify and correct hazardous conditions before they cause a fire or otherwise create a problem. These inspections are how the City helps to insure that properties are maintained, exit doors are unlocked and operable and safety issues are addressed. Our goal is to make Euless a safer place in which to live, work and visit. Each year, over a thousand code violations are located and corrected through this process.
Fire Safety Education
Fire Safety Education is an important part of the overall duties assigned to the Fire Marshal's Office. However, in Euless, the kudos for fire safety education go to the firefighters as well, as public education is a team function. The Fire Marshal’s Office develops and coordinates a variety of public education and training programs that are used in the community. The Fire Marshals Office, through the efforts of Vernon Gilmore, the Public Education Officer, presents some classes and acts as a facilitator for others. Everyone is involved in fire safety education.
The Fire Marshals staff conducts business and community training, including fire extinguisher training, disaster preparedness and general safety classes in the community on a variety of topics. Newsletter topics are provided to the City’s Public Information Officer and apartment community concerns are addressed through regular meetings with the apartment managers group.
Firefighters conduct station tours of their respective stations, as well as providing engine company tours and presenting educational programs to kindergarten students in our City. Engine crews also participate in neighborhood parades and community based Halloween and other programs.
The Department also participates in the Arbor Daze event, open house events, various safety fairs, carnivals and similar special events in the City.
We also field a very active clown troop. This group of firefighters take on a very different persona to educate large numbers of children in safety related topics. Through the use of clowns, puppets and skits, the troop can reach out into our community in ways that traditional programs can not. Euless is a very diverse community, a fact we are proud of. However, it does present challenges. For example, we have one elementary school which documents over 40 languages that are spoken by its students. The clowns can get through communications barriers very easily and make the children understand the message even if they don’t understand all of the words.
Fire Investigations
Fire Investigations are conducted by specially trained Fire and Arson Investigators. These individuals are cross-trained as police officers and as firefighters and conduct investigations into both criminal and non-criminal fire causes and conditions. The arson investigators employed by the Euless Fire Department are commissioned peace officers and work closely with the Euless Police Department Criminal Investigation Division.
