About Us
The Division of Fire Safety/State Fire Marshal’s Office operates as a division within the NH Department of Safety. It operates two bureaus: Bureau of Building Safety & Construction (BSC) and Bureau of Investigations (BOI).
We are led by Director Sean P. Toomey, whose term runs from June 2, 2021 to March 31, 2024.
Our office is responsible for operations throughout the entire State, including:
- Building safety and construction as it relates to NH State Fire Code and NH State Building Code
- Jurisdiction for building code only applies to state-owned properties
- Carbon monoxide and fire death investigations
- Community assistance during emergencies
- Community risk reduction
- Data collection & analysis related to fire service emergency response
- Lead agency for ESF-4 and ESF 10 in the State Emergency Operations Center
- Fire cause investigations
- Fire code enforcement
- Fire code interpretations
- Fireworks safety
- Hazardous materials coordination and response
- Ignitable liquid detection canine unit
- Investigation of building collapses and gas/mechanical incidents
- Licensing fireworks, mechanical/ plumbing & gasfitting, and modular building professionals
- Law enforcement related to arson
- Public fire safety education
- School safety inspection program
- Staff and local responder training
- State building permit program
- Technical plans review service throughout the state
The items listed above involve coordination between multiple agencies during emergency response, enforcement activities and investigations between federal, state, county, and local departments.