Thousands of fires occur every single day across the country. They happen in homes, hotels, hospitals, and even vehicles. Many men and women put their lives on the line each time an alarm goes off, alerting departments of a fire in the area. For most, it’s a career, while others just volunteer their time to help others.

To become a firefighter, you must go through extensive training. You spend months in the fire academy training and being put into mock situations to help prepare you for the real thing. Some aspiring firefighters want to be fully involved at the scene by running into the fire, while others are looking for something a little bit different.

For firefighters interested in fire safety and fire protection services, but aren’t looking to be an on-scene firefighter any longer, the position as a Fire Marshal may be a good fit. A Fire Marshal is the middle-man position between the actual firefighting and police work. The Fire Marshal focuses on figuring out the cause of a fire and enforcing codes. Fire Marshals are also responsible for handling the fire alarm inspection for specific buildings, as well as making sure that their fire alarm system is up-to-date.

If this is something that interests you, keep reading to learn more about the steps you have to take to become a Fire Marshal.

Go Through Training

Much like firefighters, Fire Marshals also have to go through training. This training, however, is a bit more extensive in terms of learning more versus doing more. The coursework focuses heavily on every code that applies to different rules and regulations within buildings, cars, homes, etc..

Get Firefighting Experience

In order to be a Fire Marshal, you have to have experience as a firefighter. Being a firefighter is a pre-requisite for the Fire Marshal position because it gives you the opportunity to not only know specific codes but know what to actually do in a fire.

Apply for Fire Marshal Positions

Applying for the position is the easy part. The waiting to hear if you got the job is a little more difficut. It may help to reach out to a fire alarm service or other fire protection services and get to know them. Fire Marshals work closely with them and fire protection companies, so knowing people could give you a leg up in the application process.

Being a firefighter can be an extremely rewarding job. Furthering your career and becoming a Fire Marshal is an extremely strenuous process. However, it allows you to take what you know as a firefighter working with fire protection services, and get to the why instead of sticking with the how.