Annual report of the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal's office

              F 800.3 A6l5 2009 c.l
Annual Report of the
Oklahoma State Fire Marshal's Office
Robert Doke, State Fire Marshal
Mission
To promote safety and awareness and reduce the loss of lives and property to the citizens and
businesses of Oklahoma through public education, investigations, inspections, building plan
reviews, code assistance/enforcement and statistical data collection.
Vision
To promulgate and implement codes and standards by the inspection and plan review of
buildings and premises; to investigate fires, explosions and hazardous materials incidents; to
assist others and coordinate with emergency response and government entities in the
development of public education, training and grant writing; and to collect and analyze statistical
data as defined in 74O.S. §§ 311-324.21.
General Duties/Responsibiiities
State Fire Marshal Agents are located throughout the state. Agent duties include responding to
calls for assistance from fire departments and law enforcement agencies across the state to
determine the origin and cause of fires. Where probable cause exists, each Agent has the
authority to arrest persons suspected of being involved in arson, attempted arson or conspiracy to
defraud crimes and work in conjunction with city and county law enforcement officials to secure
convictions and testify in court as expert witnesses.
Fire Investigations
l000~------------------------------------------~----------~
800
600
400
200
O~~~~u,~~~~~~~~~--~~~~~TW~~
[]Arson
• Accidental
[] Undetermined
[]Total
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 200S2006 2007 2008 2009
1
Each Agent also conducts life safety inspections in assisted living centers, public and private
schools, colleges and universities, child care (daycare) centers, jails, prisons, juvenile detention
centers, hospitals, nightclubs, factories, horse race tracks and fireworks retail facilities. Each
Agent participates in fire prevention programs with public, private and educational
organizations, volunteer and municipal fire, police and sheriff departments.
Inspections 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Assembly (Restaurant, Gym. Church. Nightclub) 251 250 311 243 218 208 233 204
Business (University/College. Government Office) 369 280 317 245 261 304 334 241
Public Education (K-12 School) 570 312 231 313 447 628 384 300
Educational (Daycare) 339 251 253 282 291 247 261 238
Institution (Jail. Prison. Assisted Living) 812 689 734 688 647 606 665 582
Residential (Group Home. Hotel/Motel.
[Apartment] 169 156 127 155 145 165 217 136
Factorv. Hazard. Mercantile. Storaae, Utility 188 115 209 88 74 88 133 130
TOTALS: 2698 2053 2067 2014 2067 2246 2227 1840
The Agency's building department examines plans and specifications of new construction or
remodeling, sprinkler and alarm systems to ensure compliance with minimum safety standards
adopted by the State Legislature and the State Fire Marshal Commission. Assistance with
building codes and standards adopted by the state is available to all city, town or county officials
throughout the state.
Plan Reviews
1200
800
I"
I" F
I" F
,- to- - - ,.. l- -I- - ,. ,.. c
I" F
lorl J I r I-
1000
600
400
DBuilding
.Sprinkler
DAlarm
DTotal
200
o
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2
The Agency's Oklahoma Fire Incident Reporting System compiles and documents every fire in
the state by receiving annual incident reports from the 914 fire departments as required by law.
This information is collected and reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System.
Statewide Deaths and Injuries
250
200
150
100
50
o
~-,. II::
f-- ,. I---
,- r-- iIo I-- ~-7 !"' f-- I--
trl -~ m Jl II::
~
C1Civilian Deaths
_Firefighter Deaths
oCivilian Injuries
DFirefighter fujuries
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Agency Programs
(1) Smoke Detectors. The Agency currently provides smoke detectors to fire departments and
civic organizations. The smoke detectors are delivered to the departments or organizations
through the Agency's Field Personnel. If the entity cannot not afford a price matching
arrangement, then the smoke detectors are provided free of charge.
(2) Public Education. Due to budget reductions over the past couple of years, the Agency has
not been able to participate in the RiskWatch and Remembering When programs. These
programs provide fire safety instruction and materials from school age children up to senior
adults relating to installing and operating smoke detectors and space heaters, fireplace
maintenance, choking, smoking while on oxygen and proper disposal of smoking materials and
firework safety.
(3) Mobile Communications Unit. The Agency acquired a Mobile Communications Trailer and
tow vehicle with Homeland Security Grant funds. This unit will provide interoperable
communications between emergency first responders, law enforcement, EMT, etc. on all hazard
statewide incidents. Agency personnel will oversee the operation of this unit.
(4) Fire Act Grants. The Agency assists Oklahoma fire departments with grant writing to obtain
federal dollars for equipment and training purposes. Since 2001, Oklahoma fire departments
have been awarded grant funds in the approximate amount of $66,875,007. The chart below
reflects the type of grant and dollar amount. The Agency also provides 12 names to Washington,
DC every year to represent the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal's Office as grant evaluators. The
representatives then present their community leaders with critical information on successful
grant writing. Travel expenses are paid by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
3
$12,000,000
$10,000,000
$8,000,000
$6,000,000
$4,000,000
-
I"' F - - I-- ~
- - I-- I- I"' - ~ - ~
-F to- - - I-- I-- - - ~
- - - I-- I-- I-- f ~ nn III - ,::. oF
DAFG
.Preventi on
DSAFER
DTotal
Assistance to Firefighters Grants
$2,000,000
$0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Budget Comparison
The chart below reflects a decrease in appropriated funding during FY-2002, FY-2003 and FY-
2004 in the approximate amount of $470,000. The Agency has experienced a gradual increase of
appropriated funding for FY-2005 and FY-2006 in the approximate amount of $180,000. The
FY-2009 budget remained the same as FY-2008. By the end of June, the Agency will have
reduced its current FY-2010 budget by $137,322. Due to these budget reductions, the Agency
currently has four (4) vacant Field Agent I positions, one (1) vacant Operations Chief position,
one (1) vacant Public Information Officer position and one (1) vacant Secretary I position.
Appropriations by Fiscal Year
500,000
- - - ~ ~
to--'" .- - - to-- to-- - I--
to-- to-- - --- to-- to-- - ~ I--
to-- to-- - - ~ f-- - - I-- -- -- - - -- - - •••
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
o
FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10
The State Fire Marshal's Office employs the best personnel available to accomplish its mission.
With the proper funding and a full staff, the State Fire Marshal's Office can efficiently and
effectively provide the most up-to-date code assistance and fire investigation techniques in order
to promote the health, welfare and safety of the citizens and businesses in Oklahoma.
4