40A:14-2 County fire marshal; powers and duties.

40A:14-2. County Fire Marshal; powers and duties.

The county fire marshal shall: act in an advisory capacity to all of the fire companies in the county, conduct or assist in, when requested by the incident commander or fire chief of the department having jurisdiction, investigations pertaining to the cause and origins of fires, conduct or review studies pertaining to the elimination of fire hazards and, subject to the approval of the board of chosen freeholders, have authority to enforce the provisions of the "Uniform Fire Safety Act," P.L.1983, c.383 (C.52:27D-192 et seq.). The county fire marshal shall report to the appropriate authority, as determined by the entity with control over the executive functions of the county. The term "entity with control over the executive functions of the county" means:

a. in counties other than those that have adopted a form of government pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1972, c.154 (C.40:41A-1 et seq.), the board of freeholders, unless such a county has created the position of county administrator pursuant to (N.J.S.40A:9-42), in which case the term means the county administrator;

b. in counties that have adopted a form of government pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1972, c.154 (C.40:41A-1 et seq.), the county executive, the county manager, the county supervisor or the board president, depending upon the county form of government.

The county fire marshal, subject to the approval of the board of chosen freeholders, may:

(1) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c.351).

(2) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c.351).

(3) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c.351).

(4) accept the responsibility to be the enforcing agency for a municipality or fire district under the "Uniform Fire Safety Act," P.L.1983, c.383 (C.52:27D-192 et seq.) if requested to do so by ordinance of the municipality or resolution of the fire district;

(5) act as training administrator of county fire training facilities and coordinate training programs with fire departments, agencies and established training committees;

(6) offer assistance to families, units of government and mental health agencies including law enforcement for intervention in juvenile fire setting incidents;

(7) provide for the prevention of fire hazards and initiate programs for public awareness; and

(8) provide municipal fire departments with such assistance as necessary to coordinate, control or extinguish any fire situation or other emergency situation for which a fire department has responsibility by local ordinance when requested by the incident commander or fire chief of the department having jurisdiction. If a permanent, full-time county fire marshal or assistant fire marshal is given authorization by the board of chosen freeholders to conduct activities as provided in this paragraph, such county fire marshal and assistant fire marshal shall be enrolled as a member in the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey as set forth in N.J.S.40A:14-1.

L.1971, c.197, s.1; amended 1999, c.351, s.1; 2005, c.366, s.2.