Agency overview | |
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Formed | July 1, 1965 |
Headquarters | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
Employees | 23 FTE (2012) |
Annual budget | $ 2.5 million (2012) |
Minister responsible | |
Agency executives |
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Parent agency | Oklahoma State Fire Marshal Commission |
Website | Office of the State Fire Marshal |
The Office of the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for preventing and investigating loss of life and destruction of property caused by fire. OSFM accomplishes its mission through public education, criminal investigations, building inspections, and fire code enforcement activities.
OSFM is headed by State Fire Marshal. The State Fire Marshal is responsible for preventing and investigating fires. The State Fire Marshal is appointed by the State Fire Marshal Commission, a seven-member board appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate. The current State Fire Marshal is G. Keith Bryant.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal was created in 1965 during the term of Governor Henry Bellmon.
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Inside OSU - Cowboys Marching Band
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Ghost town of Centralia, Oklahoma
Transcription
Hi this is Burns Hargis with another edition of Inside OSU and today I'm standing among the 300 plus cowboys marching band. We'll meet the band director and several members of the band. I'm talking to Brad Snow, who is the director of the Cowboy Marching Band. Brad you've got a great organization. It's a great organization and second to Mike Gundy, I think I have the greatest job on campus. How are our band members chosen? Well it's an audition process. They contact us just like football recruits, people have their short list of schools, and they contact us and we put them through an audition process. Do you recruit them? We recruit them and a lot of people recruit us just from watching us at football games. You do this right outside my office so I have a feeling for the time you put in. How many hours do you put in to get ready for a performance? We put in six hours a week that I see, but if you multiply that times 300 students out there and think about all the time they spend memorizing music and put in during band camp and all the hours people don't see beyond gameday you're talking about thousands of man hours. You actually perform at a number of other events or part of the band does. We have probably about 40 commitments every year. And of course you're over there at basketball with all the getup. Yeah we've got about 60 spirit events and 40 marching band events. How much bigger do you want to band to be? We're at about 250 to 300 right now, I'd like to see that from 350 to 400. You're doing a great job. I hope the students know much they mean to the overall excitement and spirit. I think they do. As you can probably tell on gameday, the students put in a lot of work and they take what they do very seriously and they believe they have an impact on the outcome of the game. They're exactly right and we appreciate everything you do. Thanks Brad. Well here we are talking to three students, three members of the Cowboy marching band. This is Aly Akers from Enid, Oklahoma, who obviously is a twirler. This is Chelsea Chippendale from Keller, Texas, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and we've got Kevin Ayres, who is our senior drum major. He's the guy that gives it this stuff. How do you like being in the band? I love being in the band. I love going to the games and twirling for it. Don't you worry when you throw it? I do worry. That's why I have this black tape cause those stadium lights are so bright so I spot this and I have to watch it till it's in my hand. When did you learn how to twirl? When I was 3. I'm the third generation twirler in my family. My mom, grandma and aunts are twirlers. Is it exciting when you go on the field. When we start run-on, I just get a rush and am so excited for the game to go. Chelsea, you're a freshman and you got a scholarship to come to OSU. How did you pick OSU? Well I was looking at lot of different universities in Texas and Oklahoma and I came here and it felt like home. I was grateful for the scholarship and it definitely made my choice a lot easier. What instrument do you play? French horn. And you're out there starting as a freshman? Yes, I love it. Run-on is so exciting. Kevin, talk about as senior drum major, you've been involved all four years? Yes, this is my fifth year here. Do you all realize how much you add to the spirit of the game? Yeah this is my fifth year here and every year you build that momentum. So my freshman year we played and made some noise and then my next year everyone said the band's getting louder and bigger and by my fifth year we're kind of a big deal around here. How do you like the west end zone? I love it. Does it add a lot to the whole experience? Because you used to be in the east end zone. Yeah east end zone on the field, but now we're actually in the stands we have fans around us going crazy and hyping us up the whole time. Well it wouldn't be close to the same thing without you guys. You make a huge difference and I hope all of you understand that because we really appreciate it. Well that's it for another edition of Inside OSU. Be sure to stay in your seats at halftime at the football games to support the Cowboys marching band. Well what do you say guys, let's hit it. [music]
State Fire Marshal Commission
The State Fire Marshal Commission is a seven-member commission that supervises the operations of the State Fire Marshal and provides such policy and regulation of the State Fire Marshal as is needed. Commission members are appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, and serve staggered five-year terms. Commissioners represent Safety Engineers, State Fire Firefighters, Oklahoma Municipalities, Oklahoma Fire Chiefs, Professional Firefighters, and Oklahoma Electricians.
Name | Group Represented | Term Expires | Commission Office |
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Diane Abernathy | Safety Engineers | 2012 | |
Kirk Trekell | Cities and Towns | 2013 | |
Joe Elam | Career Firefighters | 2013 | |
Mark Huff | Volunteer Firefighters | 2014 | |
Paul Gallahar | Governor of Oklahoma | 2015 | Chairman |
Keith Bryant | Fire Chiefs | 2016 | |
Cecil Clay | Electrical Workers | 2017 |
Appointment and qualifications
The Commission appoints the State Fire Marshal by a majority vote based solely on administrative ability and experience. Any potential appointee must be a person of good moral character, a resident of Oklahoma at the time of appointment, possess or obtain a valid Oklahoma driver license and be a citizen of the United States. The State Fire Marshal must have a minimum of ten years' experience in fire protection, fire prevention, investigation, or criminal justice. The Commission may also require such additional qualifications as it deems needed.
If the Commission so deems, the State Fire Marshal may be required to obtain certification as a peace officer from the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, and will be subject to an extensive background investigation, psychological testing, and drug testing.
Duties and powers
The Office of the State Fire Marshal is responsible for enforcing the State Fire Code. OSFM's law enforcement agents investigate crimes of arson statewide in conjunction with city and county law enforcement officials. In conjunction with the Oklahoma Department of Mines and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, it is the duty of OSFM to enforce all state laws governing the transportation, storage, and use of explosive devices.
To ensure compliance with the State Fire and Building Codes, OSFM requires a permit be obtained from its office prior to the construction of many types of buildings anywhere in the state. OSFM examines plans and specifications of certain types of new construction or remodeling to ensure minimum safety standards are met. Many cities across the state, however, have adopted the State's fire and building codes. In such cases, OSFM approval is granted upon inspection by the local officials and the issuance of a local building permit. Those cities which have not adopted the State codes fall under the jurisdiction of OSFM and must obtain a building permit from it prior to the beginning of construction. In all cases, OSFM is authorized to provide technical assistance assist any city, town or county in the enforcement of the fire and building codes.
OSFM compiles and documents every fire in the state by receiving annual incident reports from all fire departments in the state as required by law. This information is collected under the Oklahoma Fire Incident Reporting System (OFIRS) as directed by the State Fire Marshal Commission and reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System. OFIRS is used to gather and analyze information on the state's fire problem, as well as its detailed characteristics and trends.
At least once a year, OSFM is required to inspect for minimum safety standards all correctional institutions operated or licensed by both the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs.
OSFM serves as staff to the Oklahoma Council on Firefighter Training.
Divisions
- Administration Division
- Fire Investigations Division
- Arson Investigations
- Oklahoma Fire Investigation Reporting System
- Fire Protection and Prevention Division
- Building Permits
- Code Enforcement and Inspections
Finance and Staff
The Office of the State Fire Marshal was authorized a budget of $2.5 million for State fiscal year 2012. The Oklahoma Legislature authorized the agency to employ 23 FTE positions for that period.[1]