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fire marshal

American  

noun

  1. an official heading a bureau for the prevention or investigation of fires.

  2. a person who has charge of the fire-prevention equipment and personnel of an industrial plant.


fire marshal British  

noun

  1. a public official responsible for investigating the causes of fires, enforcing fire prevention laws, etc

  2. the head of a fire prevention organization

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fire marshal

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

One fire marshal is in a critical condition and one firefighter is in a serious condition as of Friday evening, Mamdani.

From BBC May 23, 2026

Attendees had to be turned away from one breakfast meeting with top military brass because of legal limits enforced by a fire marshal.

From Barron's Mar. 27, 2026

“I believe having the fire marshal conduct the study will start the conversation about leveraging existing fire and emergency response technologies and strategies to maximize housing projects.”

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 20, 2026

Gonzales County, an agriculture-rich area of 20,000 people along the Guadalupe River, is among the rural communities struggling to obtain funding, said emergency management director Jimmy Harless, who is also the county’s fire marshal.

From Salon Jul. 22, 2025

The fire marshal says we can’t fill this one up any more.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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