The following list contains contact information for the Office of the Fire Marshal for each of the listed states. In some cases, the code enforcement agency may not be the Fire Marshal, which is noted. Important historical fires and disasters which have had an impact on fire codes are also detailed.
Every attempt has been made to ensure that this information is current, but for the latest information, always refer to the local agency responsible for code enforcement in your region.
Jump to the U.S. Territory of Interest.
Utah
Utah Office of the State Fire Marshal
5272 South College Drive #302
Murray, Utah 84123
Phone: 801-284-6350
Web: https://firemarshal.utah.gov/
The State Fire Marshal's Office was established in 1964 and became a division of the Utah Department of Public Safety in 1981.
Utah has adopted statewide- International Building Code®
- International Fire Code®
- NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®
Exit signs with green lettering are recommended, except Salt Lake City, where green lettering are required.
Fire Facts:- On May 1, 1900, a coal dust explosion at the Winter Quarters Mine near Scofield, Utah killed at least 200 men.
Vermont
Department of Public Safety
Division of Fire Safety
1311 U.S. Route 302 Suite 600
Barre, VT 05641-2351
Phone: 802-479-7561 / 800-640-2106
Fax: 802-479-7562
Web: http://firesafety.vermont.gov/
The Office of the State Fire Marshal heads the Division of Fire Safety, a division of the Vermont Department of Public Safety.
Vermont has adopted statewide- International Building Code®
- International Fire Code®
Exit signs with red lettering are recommended.
Fire Facts:- On February 5, 1887, the worst rail accident in Vermont history occurred when an express train to Montreal derailed and caught on fire at the White River Bridge near Hartford, Vermont. More than 40 died.
Virginia
Virginia Department of Fire Programs
State Fire Marshal's Office
1005 Technology Park Drive
Glen Allen, VA 23059-4500
Phone: 804-371-0220
Fax: 804-371-3444
Email: statefiremarshal@vdfp.virginia.gov
Web: https://www.vafire.com/state-fire-marshals-office/
The Office of the State Fire Marshal was established in 1948.
Virginia has adopted statewide- International Building Code®
- International Fire Code®
Exit signs with red lettering are recommended.
Fire Facts:- On February 21, 1922 the U.S. Army dirigible Roma burst into flames and crashed after hitting a high-voltage electrical line near Langley Field in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Of the crew of 45, 34 were killed, and 8 others injured. It was the last U.S. dirigible filled with hydrogen.
Washington
Washington State Patrol
General Administration Building
P.O. Box 42600
Olympia, WA 98504-2600
Phone: 360-596-4000
Email: firemarsh@wsp.wa.gov
Web: http://www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/firemars.htm;
The Office of the State Fire Marshal is a bureau within the Washington State Patrol.
Washington has adopted statewide- International Building Code®
- International Fire Code®
- NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®
- The July 6, 1889 Great Seattle Fire destroyed the entire central business district (32 blocks) of Seattle, Washington. New city ordinances mandated brick construction.
- The August 20 & 21 Great 1910 Fire (also know as the Big Blowup or The Bitterroot Mountains Holocaust) was one of the largest wildfires ever recorded in the United States. Over 3 million acres burned in northeast Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana. 86 people, including 78 firefighters, were killed. Several towns were completely destroyed by the fire - Falcon and Grand Forks in Idaho, De Borgia, Haugan, Henderson, Taft, and Tuscor in Montana. One-third of Wallace, Idaho burned to the ground. Special trains, crowded with refugees, ferried thousands to safety. The fire of 1910 shaped the U.S. Forest Service, and set new policies for fighting wildfires.
West Virginia
West Virginia Fire Commission
Office of the State Fire Marshal
1207 Quarrier Street (2nd Floor)
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: 304-558-2191
Fax: 304-558-2537
Web: http://www.firemarshal.wv.gov/
The West Virginia Office of State Fire Marshal was established in 1909.
West Virginia has adopted statewide- International Building Code®
- Certain West Virginia local governments have adopted NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®
- International Fire Code®
Exit signs with red lettering are recommended.
Fire Facts:- On December 6, 1907 methane ignited, causing a massive coal dust explosion at the Fairmont Coal Company Mine near Monongah, West Virginia. At least 362 were killed. It remains the worst mining accident in U.S. history.
- Coal Mining disasters continued well into the twentieth century. On April 28, 1914 a series of explosions in mines 5 & 6 of the New River Collieries Company near Ecceles, West Virginia killed 188. Exactly ten years later, on April 28, 1924, the Wheeling Steel Corporation's Mill at Benwood exploded, killing 119 men. On March 17, 1925, an explosion at the Bethlehem Steel's No. 41 Mine at Barrackville killed 33. On April 30, 1927, an explosion devastated the No. 3 Mine of the New England Fuel and Transportation Company of Everettville, West Virginia. The explosion and resulting fires killed 111 men.
- On November 20, 1968 an explosion at the Consol No. 9 Mine north of Farmington, West Virginia trapped 99 miners underground. 21 miners were able to escape, but 78 perished. The 1969 Federal Mine Safety and Health Act was a direct result of the Farmington disaster.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Commerce
Safety and Buildings Division
Fire Prevention Program
P.O. Box 7839
Madison, WI 53707-7839
Web: http://dsps.wi.gov/sb/SB-FirePreventionProgram.html
In Wisconsin, the office responsible for fire codes is the Safety and Buildings Division Fire Prevention Program, which is a part of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. The State Fire Marshal is actually a part of the Department of Justice, and has the responsibility for investigating fires and explosions of an incendiary nature. The Wisconsin State Fire Marshal does not enforce building codes.
Wisconsin has adopted statewide- International Building Code®
- NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®
- International Fire Code®
Although exit signs with red or green lettering are acceptable, the cities of Milwaukee & Madison recommend exit signs with red lettering.
Fire Facts:- The October 8, 1871 Peshtigo Fire in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, resulted in as many as 1,500 deaths, the most by fire in United States history. Unfortunately, because it occurred on the same day as the more infamous Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire is mostly forgotten.
Wyoming
Department of Fire Prevention & Electrical Safety
Wyoming State Fire Marshal
Herschler Building
122 W. 25th Street, 1 West
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: 307-777-7288
Fax: 307-777-7119
Web: http://wyofire.state.wy.us/
The Office of the Wyoming State Fire Marshal was created in 1955.
Wyoming has adopted statewide- International Building Code®
- International Fire Code®
- NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®
Exit signs with either red or green lettering are acceptable.
Fire Facts:- On August 18, 1938, the Blackwater Fire near Cody, Wyoming burned 1,700 acres of Shoshone National Forest and killed fifteen firefighters. One of the results of the after-fire investigations was the development of the smokejumper program in 1939.
- The Yellowstone Park Fires of 1988 raged from June mid-November burning 1.2 million acres and destroying 67 structures. Park policy had been to let all naturally occurring fires to burn. But 1988 was the driest in the park's recorded history, and the fires kept multiplying. By the time the decision was made to suppress the fires, it was too late. Increasing winds and drought turned the many smaller fires into a firestorm that burned for months. Only a change in the weather was able to end the conflagration. At times, over 9,000 firefighters and 4,000 U.S. military personnel were engaged in the fire-fighting efforts. A new fire management plan for the park was implemented in 1992, and increased fire monitoring is in effect.