Assistant Fire Marshal

Job Title: Assistant Fire Marshal
Department: Emergency Services
Hiring Range: 24.96 - 29.13
Posted Internally and Externally
Job Posting End Date: May 03, 2023
Purpose of the position: This position is responsible for the performing specialized inspection and educational work for the County in the prevention, education, and detection for fire hazards and in the investigation of fire cause and origin.
Minimum Education, Training and/or Experience (required at time of hire): High school education or equivalent and a minimum three (3) years of experience in fire service, investigation; or the equivalent in education and experience.
License or Certification Required by Statute or Regulation:

• Possession of a valid driver's license issued by the State of North Carolina.
• Earn Level I Fire Inspection Certification within one (1) year and Level III within five (5) years as issued by the North Carolina Code Officials Qualification Board.
• Earn Fire/Arson certification within three (3) years as issued by the North Carolina Department of Insurance Fire and Rescue Division. Any loss of certification may result in an appropriate reduction in pay and classification or may affect employment status.

Essential Functions of the Position:

• Conduct inspections of commercial structures for both new construction and existing structures (semi-annually), county schools (twice annually), and private schools (annually); foster homes and residential care homes to ensure compliance with fire and life safety regulations.
• Interpret County, state and national fire codes related to fire prevention; review building plans to ensure proper fire safety measures are included, such as sprinkler and fire alarm installation.
• Present public and private fire safety and prevention programs, along with fire education programs for public and private schools within the County.
• Enforce fire codes for new construction and existing buildings for the safety of occupants and public.
• Conduct origin and cause investigations and complete reports on structure and vehicle fires upon request; Respond to all brushfires with five or more fire departments dispatched, assist with mitigation of large-scale hazmat incidents; respond to any request for emergency management response as needed.
• Inspect new subdivisions for emergency vehicle access; install and maintain all County Road signs.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Knowledge of North Carolina Fire Codes, Foster Home Safety Regulations, and AFL Regulations.
• Knowledge of the standard practices, procedures, and methods, of fire inspection, prevention and building construction.
• Knowledge of NCFIT, CFI, NC IAAI, OFSM qualification board
• Knowledge of the geographic layout of the County.
• Knowledge of fire codes, County, state and federal fire regulations, division policies, procedures and protocols and the ability to oversee compliance.
• Ability to read and review building plans.
• Ability to make observations, and remember faces, names, and various details.
• Ability to conduct investigations, organize records, and write reports.
• Ability to meet with and persuasively and effectively deal with property owners, managers, and the public to eliminate and prevent fire hazards and to stimulate interest and cooperation in fire prevention activities.
• Ability to apply interpretation of laws in specific situations.
• Ability to exercise sound judgement in routine and emergency situations.
• Ability to assist with management and recovery in the event of large emergencies.

In order to uphold internal pay parity and equity, salaries are non-negotiable for new and current Buncombe County employees. All new employees are paid according to their years of relevant education and experience above minimum requirements for the position and employees have the opportunity to obtain pay increases via cost of living increases and promotions.
Buncombe County Government realizes the importance of a diverse professional workforce and the need to foster a responsive and innovative organizational culture, one that fully engages all of our employees, honoring and building on each employee's unique experiences, opinions, and perspective.
It is the policy of Buncombe County to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, age, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other legally protected class under federal or NC State law. In addition, Buncombe County expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment or discrimination.
Applicants for employment are invited to participate in the affirmative action program by reporting their status as a protected veteran or other minority. In extending this invitation, we advise you that: (a) workers (applicants) are under no obligation to respond but may do so in the future if they choose; (b) responses will remain confidential within the human resource department; and (c) responses will be used only for the necessary information to include in our affirmative action program. We are a company that values diversity. We actively encourage women, minorities, veterans and disabled employees to apply. Refusal to provide this information will have no bearing on your application and will not subject you to any adverse treatment.