On Tuesday, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri nominated Providence City Fire Marshal George Farrell as the next state fire marshal. Farrell, who has more than 25 years of experience in the Providence Fire Department, also currently serves as chairman of R.I. Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review, and as the acting director of the city’s Department of Inspections and Standards.
If confirmed by the Rhode Island Senate, Farrell would succeed Irving “Jesse” Owens, who retired in December. State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Pare has served as the interim state fire marshal since Owens’ retirement.
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“In my view,” Carcieri said in a statement, “the state fire marshal needs to be a strong manager with a deep knowledge and long experience with fire safety. George Farrell more than meets both those criteria.
“The tragic Station nightclub fire showed all of us how important this office – and how important fire safety and prevention are – to the well-being of our citizens,” Carcieri added. “Since that time, we have updated our fire codes to make Rhode Island one of the safest states in the country. As chairman of the board that handles appeals of the new fire codes, George has an intimate knowledge of how they are being implemented, how they are working, and what remains to be done.”
Carcieri said he will charge Farrell with studying how to better coordinate the mission of the state fire marshal office with the work being done by local fire inspectors.
Nothing in state law requires local authorities, who conduct the majority of inspections in Rhode Island, to report their findings to the state fire marshal. As a result, Carcieri said, the state often does not have an up-to-date picture of how many facilities in Rhode Island are in compliance with the fire codes. That needs to change, the governor said.
“We must ensure that the state fire marshal has the tools necessary to carry out his responsibilities,” he said. “In the coming months, I expect [Farrell] to recommend the reforms necessary to make that happen.”
At the announcement Tuesday, held at the State House, Farrell thanked Carcieri for the appointment and promised to work with the R.I. Association of Fire Chiefs and others to enforce the state’s new fire codes.
“When Governor Carcieri and I met during my interview process it became evident that he expects nothing short of the best from his fire marshal and I pledge to him and all Rhode Islanders that I will work tirelessly on his and your behalf,” Farrell said.
“As your fire marshal, one of my first priorities will be to examine and analyze our code enforcement processes statewide,” he added. “Where we find areas of concern, we will begin to make improvements and then we will control our new processes to be certain they have been corrected. Working with the fire chiefs association and with professionals across the state, we will ensure that not only do we have the best fire codes in the country, but also the best trained fire marshals who can provide consistent fire code enforcement statewide.”
Farrell is a 25-year veteran of the Providence Fire Department. He has served as fire marshal for the city of Providence since June 2004. He served as acting fire marshal for Providence from June 2003 to June 2004 and as deputy fire marshal from September 2003 to June 2004.
Since 2000, Farrell has served as chairman of the R.I. Fire Safety Code Board of Appeals and Review, an agency responsible for the development of all fire code regulations around the state. He is also a past president of the Providence Firefighters Union and has served as legislative agent to the R.I. State Association of Firefighters.
