Office of the Fire Marshal

The Office of the Fire Marshal has been eliminated for the time being.

The duties of this office have been absorbed by the Fire Chief or his designee.

  The Office of the Fire Marshal is responsible for three (3) main support areas of the fire department, and gets its authority from the adopted Fire Code and from Village Ordinances.

• Fire Inspections
• Fire Investigations
• Public Education

Inspections: 

Fire Inspections Divisions works closely with the Village Building Department to ensure that all new buildings meet the requirements of the International Fire & Building Codes and the Village Ordinances.  This includes all permitting and plans review associated with new construction and alterations/remodeling.  Additionally, the division performs all acceptance tests inspections on fire suppression systems, life safety systems, and alarms systems. The Fire Marshal establishes the maximum number of patrons allowable inside Assembly Occupancies and issues Certificates of Occupancy which are required to be posted in these businesses.  Existing buildings are inspected every-other year in conjunction with their Business Registration renewal.  These efforts provide the citizen with a reasonable level of comfort knowing that the building is safe for you to occupy.

Investigations:

The Fire Marshal is charged by Village ordinance to investigate the cause of all fires within the city.  For all fires that are determined to be incendiary (arson) or suspicious, investigators work closely with police department detectives to identify responsible persons and to file criminal charges. On large or high profile fires, the fire marshal may also solicit assistance from the State Fire Marshal’s Office or federal agencies.

Public Education:

The Fire Marshal’s public education responsibilities are primarily to spread the message about fire and life safety to the Ruidoso community. The fire marshal develops and implements programs that teach children and adults about fire safety and emergency prevention.  This is accomplished through station tours as well as public appearances and demonstrations.  During Fire Prevention Week, fire operations personnel make appearances in schools and daycares to spread the fire prevention message.

The Fire Marshal’s Office is located at Central Fire Station at 541 Sudderth.   Hours of operation are 8 am until 5 pm, Monday through Friday where inspections or public speaking engagements can be scheduled.