By Joe Duval, Fire & Life Safety Specialist
One hundred and twenty-five years ago, after many years of major fires or catastrophes taking place across the state, the State of Connecticut legislature authorized the governor to establish the position of State Fire Marshal in 1901. The sole requirement was that a “suitable person” be named who was not an officer of a fire insurance company. The State Fire Marshal was charged with investigating fires of suspicious origin and reporting their findings to the Insurance Commissioner. John A. Rusling of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was appointed as the first State Fire Marshal with an annual salary of $2,000 for a three-year term effective July 1, 1901. Elmore S. Banks of Fairfield, Connecticut was appointed as the first Deputy State Fire Marshal with an annual salary of $1,500. The first office was located within the State Capitol on the fourth floor.
In 1905, the governor directed the Superintendent of State Police to assume responsibilities of the State Fire Marshal where the State Fire Marshal became part of the Connecticut State Police. However, the Superintendent of State Police was a newly created position, and the position did not assume the title of State Fire Marshal for several years. The two positions officially became one position in 1909, when the title became Superintendent of State Police/State Fire Marshal. In 1922, the State Fire Marshal was moved from the Judicial Branch to the Executive Branch. The position name was changed to State Police Commissioner/State Fire Marshal in 1927. By 1937, the State Fire Marshal had expanded to include duties such as regulating and licensing of motion picture houses, fuel oil burners and storage tanks, motor vehicle races, electricians, amusement parks and rides, gas shut offs, fire escapes, electricians, fireworks, and explosives. The office was relocated to the Connecticut State Police Headquarters located at 100 Washington Street in Hartford where the office would remain for the next several decades.
During the Second World War, three major fires transpired in New England with two of these fires happening in Connecticut. The first fire transpired at the Coconut Grove in Boston, Massachusetts on November 28, 1942, which took the lives of 492 people. This fire was caused by the highly flammable combustible decorations catching fire. The blocked exits and the occupant load exceeding the building capacity contributed to the number of lives lost. The second fire transpired at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, known as the Hartford Circus Fire, held in the field off Barbour Street in Hartford, on July 6, 1944, which took the lives of 169 people. The Hartford Circus Fire resulted in the tents cotton cloth fabric, which was waterproofed with a solution of white gasoline and paraffin wax spread on with brooms, caught fire. The third fire transpired at the Convalescent Home on Niles Street in Hartford, on December 24, 1945, which took the lives of 19 people. This fire was caused by a short circuit in the Christmas tree lighting and the open stairway in the building contributed to the spread of fire and the number of lives lost. The Hartford Circus Fire contributed to the development of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 102, Standard for Grandstands, Folding and Telescopic Seating, Tents, and Membrane Structures in 1945, which is a national model standard where tents are now required to meet flame propagation performance testing.
After the end of the war, the State Fire Marshal was authorized under Public Act 47-419, to establish a fire safety code to provide a reasonable degree of safety from fire, smoke, and panic therefrom, in all buildings except one and two families and manufacturing establishments. The new code named the Connecticut Fire Safety Code (CFSC) was adopted on September 23, 1947, and would contain provisions for places of public assembly. The 1947 Connecticut Fire Safety Code was the product of one man, a state police officer, with background in arson investigation but no background in fire protection, code preparation, code enforcement, or building construction. The 1947 Connecticut State Fire Safety Code was published in seven progressive installments from September 29, 1947, through January 11, 1955, in regulation format. The seven progressive installments added provisions for hotels, outside stairs, and cooking facilities in 1948, Schools in 1953, Boarding and Rooming Homes in 1954, and Child Care Centers in 1955. On July 19, 1948, a tragedy occurred when Deputy State Fire Marshal (State Police Lieutenant) Frank Starkel, who was overseeing a rock blast in Newington, died in the line of duty. Lieutenant Starkel succumbed to injuries from flying rock debris.
The Connecticut Fire Safety Code was revised in 1956 with this edition being a compilation of all regulations and amendments as of January 1, 1956. The 1947 and 1956 codes were written by the State Fire Marshal staff, and the codes were not based on nationally recognized model codes. By 1960, the State Fire Marshals duties expanded to include regulations for auctioneers, bingos, raffles, bazaars, outdoor advertising, circus tents, dry cleaning establishments, and hazardous materials such as liquified petroleum gas, flammable and combustible liquids, hazardous chemicals, and transmission of petroleum products by pipelines. The hazardous materials regulations were known as the former “Fire Prevention Code” or “Haz-Mat codes.” A major fire transpired at the Hartford Hospital on December 8, 1961, which took the lives of 16 people. The fire started in a rubbish chute resulting from a lite cigarette being dropped down the chute. In result of this fire, fire and life safety code requirements for hospitals would be changed.
It wasn’t until 1971 when the Connecticut Fire Safety Code started to be based on the nationally recognized model code NFPA 101, Life Safety Code. The 1971 CFSC was based on NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, 1970 edition. However, the code did not adopt NFPA 101, and the code was not mandatory throughout the state. The 1971 CSFC was the first fire safety code to include provisions for apartments, business, mercantile, storage, industrial, and miscellaneous occupancies. It wasn’t until 1981 that the state legislature mandated the Connecticut Fire Safety Code be reviewed and updated not less than once every four years. The 1981 Connecticut State Fire Safety Code (CSFSC) was based on NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, 1976 edition but was not adopted as part of the code. The 1981 CSFSC was also the first code to be set as the “minimum standard” for fire and life safety within all buildings including existing buildings. At the time, the fire code modification process under CGS 29-44 (present day CGS 29-296) allowed the State Fire Marshal to modify the code for strict compliance to allow existing conditions that do not meet the minimum code requirements by allowing the condition to remain based on equivalent alternatives being offered. The fire code modification process after the adoption of the 1981 CSFSC, was revamped and went into full effect where the process is still effective today by resolving existing conditions.
In 1977, a series of administrative and reorganizational changes began to affect the State Fire Marshal. In 1979, two hundred sixty (260) departments, agencies, and units that reported directly to the governor were merged into twenty-three (23) agencies, which included the creation of the Department of Public Safety (today known as the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection). The Bureau of State Fire Marshal which evolved under the State Police Commissioner with very limited scope since 1901, was expanded to include the State Boiler Inspector, State Building Inspector, and the Codes and Standards Committee. This evolved into the State Fire Marshal becoming a major component of the Department of Public Safety encompassing over one hundred seventy (170) statutorily mandated codes, standards and functions. The position once again changed to the Department of Public Safety Commissioner/State Fire Marshal and a sworn State Police Officer served as the Deputy State Fire Marshal to oversee and lead the Bureau of State Fire Marshal. The office was relocated to the Connecticut State Police Complex located at 294 Colonel Street in Meriden where the office would remain until December 1994. In 1981, the Public Health Unit that was originally contracted to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) from the Department of Public Health (DPH), was responsible for health care facility inspections throughout the state was disbanded due to healthcare funding and funding for additional staff at DPS. The unit was then transferred back to DPH where it continues to be supported today under the Facility Licensing and Investigations Section.
In 1986, in response to Governor William O’Neill’s Task Force, the Bureau of State Fire Marshal was reorganized and renamed the Bureau of State Fire Marshal and Safety Service. This would change in 1988 by the state legislature to the Office of Fire and Building Safety. During the mid-1980s, the responsibilities were broadened to include licensing and permitting for investigations, inspections, and enforcement of hazardous materials, explosives, special effects, cranes and demolition. Another major function was the training and continuing education leading to licensing and certification of local fire and building officials as well as collection and analysis of fire data and burn statistics. The bureau also established a program to train accelerant canines and their handlers. Connecticut’s first accelerant canine, a black labrador retrieve named “Mattie” was the first trained accelerant detection dog in the United States in 1986. On April 23, 1987, a building collapse occurred at the L'Ambience Plaza in Bridgeport where 28 construction workers lost their lives where the lift slab construction contributed to the collapse. In result of this collapse in 1988, the threshold building law under CGS 29-252a was established for the applicability, permitting, and inspecting of state buildings.
The 1987 Connecticut Fire Safety Code was the first code to adopt NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, 1985 edition, where NFPA 101 would be amended, added, or deleted by the State Fire Marshal along with the Codes and Standards Committee to create the states fire safety code. In 1990, legislature mandated another change which elevated the status of the Office of Fire and Building Safety to the Division of Fire and Building Safety and created the position of Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety to oversee the new division. In 1992, a special session of legislature expanded the Division of Fire and Building Safety to include the Office of Emergency Management, Bureau of Statewide Emergency Telecommunications as well as the Bureau of State Fire Marshal and Bureau of State Building Inspector.
In 1993, the division was renamed again to the Division of Fire, Emergency, and Building Services where internal changes elevated the Bureau of State Fire Marshal to the Office of State Fire Marshal. The Commissioner of Public Safety continued to assume the title of State Fire Marshal, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety required to be a civilian, was the administrative head of the Division of Fire, Emergency, and Building Services, and the Deputy State Fire Marshal was the operational head of the Office of State Fire Marshal who was appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety and reported to the Deputy Commissioner. The Office of State Fire Marshal staff was made up of technical clerical and administrative staff which included both sworn state police and civilian personnel. The office was relocated from Meriden into the new Department of Public Safety Building located at 1111 Country Club Road in Middletown during the month of December 1994.
In 1999, another reorganization change affected the Office of State Fire Marshal. The Bureau of Elevators and Bureau of Boilers were moved to the Office of State Building Inspector. The Bureau of Education and Data Management was taken out of the Office of State Fire Marshal and elevated to the Office of Education and Data Management (OEDM), which now provides training and certification to local fire and building officials. The Office of State Fire Marshal was then broken up into two bureaus: The Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement (I&E) and the Bureau of Engineering.
The Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement (I&E) was staffed by both sworn and civilian personnel that included the East and West Fire Investigation Units and Licensing, Permitting, and Special Hazards Unit. This bureau was responsible for fire and arson investigations, inspection of mechanical amusement rides and circus tents; permitting storage, transportation and use of fireworks, explosives, flammable liquids and hazardous materials; licensing of crane operators and demolition contractors, including investigations of accidents relating to the above. In addition, they assisted and trained local fire marshals in these areas.
The Bureau of Engineering was comprised of three units: Code Services, Field Services, and State Buildings. These civilian personnel were responsible, along with the State Codes and Standards committee, for promulgation of all fire, life safety, and special hazard laws and regulations. The bureau assisted local fire marshals, reviewed requests for fire code modifications, inspected state buildings, and reviewed plans and construction for new state buildings. In 2001, the Office of State Fire Marshal celebrated 100 years of service with an event held at the Aqua Turf in Southington. On February 26, 2003, a tragedy struck at the Greenwood Nursing Home located in Hartford, where 16 residents lost their lives after a fire ripped through the non-sprinklered nursing home. As a result of this fire under Public Act 03-3, a retroactive statutory requirement under CGS 29-315, that all licensed chronic and convalescent homes and rest homes with nursing supervision shall be equipped with an automatic sprinkler system no later than July 31, 2006.
On December 31, 2005, the Connecticut State Fire Safety Code for the first time adopted different model codes for new and existing buildings. Part III of the code adopted the International Fire Code (IFC) which was adopted for new buildings, renovations, change of occupancy, repairs, and additions; Part IV of the code continued to adopt NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, for existing buildings built prior to this date; and Part V adopted NFPA 1, Fire Code for all buildings operations and maintenance. Since the adoption of the IFC, the use of International Code Council (ICC) codes began to kick off in Connecticut. In 2008, the Fire Safe Cigarette Act was passed under Public Act 07-180 to ensure that all cigarettes sold in Connecticut are designed to self-extinguish, intended to reduce the risk of fire if someone falls asleep while smoking.
In 2010, legislature approved the adoption of the Connecticut State Fire Prevention Code (CSFPC) which adopts NFPA 1, Fire Code which would apply to all hazardous materials, process and activities that occur in all buildings, purposes of prevention of fire and other emergencies, and enhance the enforcement capabilities of the local fire marshal. The State Fire Prevention Code would replace the Connecticut State Fire Safety Code Part V and the former liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas, flammable and combustible liquids, dry cleaning, hazardous chemical, oil burners, and gas piping and equipment regulations. These regulations in conflict with the code were repealed by 2017.
On February 7, 2010, a significant tragedy occurred at the Kleen Energy Powerplant in Middletown when an explosion occurred killing six workers. The high-pressure natural gas was being used to clean debris out of the natural gas piping when the high velocity gas found an ignition source and exploded. The OSFM I&E and Field Services personnel assisted the local fire marshal with the investigation. After the investigation the U.S Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued recommendations for the NFPA to develop requirements for safe conduct of fuel gas piping cleaning operations where NFPA 56, The Standard for Fire and Explosion Prevention During Cleaning and Purging of Flammable Gas Piping Systems was developed as a national model standard. NFPA 56 now prohibits the use of flammable gas as an agent for the interior cleaning of piping systems.
In 2011, legislature made a significantly major change by separating the sworn state police personnel and civilian personnel under Public Act 11-51. The Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement (I&E) remained with the newly created Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) and was moved underneath the Connecticut State Police as the Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit (FEIU). The State Fire Marshal and the Office of State Fire Marshal - Bureau of Engineering civilian staff were moved to the newly created Department of Construction Services (DCS) and renamed the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The responsibilities for amusements and circus tents were moved underneath the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). The office was relocated to 165 Capitol Ave in Hartford for a short period of time before moving into the current building located at 450 Columbus Boulevard in Hartford in 2016.
In 2013, the Department of Construction Services was absorbed into the Department of Administrative Services (DAS). In 2016, under Public Act 16-215, both the Connecticut State Fire Safety Code and Connecticut State Fire Prevention Code changed from regulation making format to a code amendment format requiring the codes conform to adopted model fire and life safety and fire codes and to be adopted and revised every three years by the State Fire Marshal in conjunction with the Codes and Standards Committee for the Fire Safety Code and the Fire Prevention Code Advisory committee for the State Fire Prevention Code. This process streamlines the code adoption process by exempting both codes from most of the requirements of the regulation process by reducing the timeframe for adopting the codes. In 2013, under Public Act 13-256, the OSFM in conjunction with DESPP, starts to review and approve the use of special effect – flame effects giving DESPP the authority to regulate the licensing and permitting of these special effect displays while the State Fire Marshal has authority to review and approve these displays under the fire prevention code to determine code compliance.
Today, the OSFM continues to remain under the Department of Administrate Services, Real Estate and Construction Services alongside the Office of the State Building Inspector (OSBI) and Office of Education and Data Management (OEDM). The State Fire Marshal continues to be appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services and reports to the Director of Regulatory Compliance. The Office of the State Fire Marshal is under the direction of State Fire Marshal Lauri Volkert who is responsible for statutory requirements dealing with the protection of life and property for the public from harmful effects of fire, explosion, and mechanical failures. Lauri Volkert is the first female State Fire Marshal in Connecticut history. The OSFM consists of three units:
Field Services lead by Deputy State Fire Marshal David Woods, is responsible for assisting local fire marshals with the proper application and applicability of the fire safety and fire prevention codes, reviewing requests for fire code modifications, code development, reviewing flame effects before an audience, distributing Emergency Response Guidebooks (ERGs) to local fire marshals, code topic presentations, code research, formal interpretations, managing the states National Emergency Response Incident System (NERIS), analyzing burn injury reports, managing the hotel-motel safety act, answering technical code questions, investigating appeals and testifying in hearings for the Codes and Standards committee, and assist the state fire marshal with community risk reduction, public fire and life safety education, and Fire Safe CT platform.
State Buildings lead by Fire & Life Safety Supervisor Ray Occhialini, is responsible for the inspection of existing state buildings, reviewing plans and construction of new state buildings, reviewing plans and construction of new state threshold building projects, code complaints in state buildings, assisting other state agencies, code topic presentations, answering code questions, and assist the state fire marshal with community risk reduction, public fire and life safety education, and Fire Safe CT platform.
Technical Services lead by State Fire Marshal Lauri Volkert, is responsible for issuing crane and demolition licenses, inspecting cranes, inspecting demolition sites, and investigating any accidents involving cranes, and answering crane and demolition questions.
The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) continues to have statutory authority over the licensing and permitting of the storage, transportation and use of fireworks, explosives, and special effects, fire and arson investigations, and inspection of mechanical amusement rides and circus tents for the DCP. The OSFM and DESPP continue to work alongside and assist each other where it is necessary to provide technical expertise.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal has evolved from a single office reporting suspicious fires to a major component of Public Safety. Its responsibilities are board, diverse, and complex. For the last 125 years, the goal of protection of life and property remains the same.
State Fire Marshals 1901 to 2026
State Fire Marshal
John Rusling, 1901 - 1905
State Fire Marshal/State Police Superintendents
Thomas Eagan, 1905 – 1921 (State Fire Marshal effect.1909)
Robert T. Hurley, 1921 - 1927
State Fire Marshal/State Police Commissioners
Captain Robert T. Hurley, 1927 – 1931
Colonel Anthony Sunderland, 1931 – 1939
Colonel Edward Hickey, 1939 – 1953 (died in office)
Colonel John Kelly, 1953 – 1959
Colonel Leo Mulcahy, 1959 – 1971
Colonel Cleveland Fuessenich, 1971 – 1975
Colonel Edward Leonard, 1975 – 1978
Colonel Donald Long, 1978 (Acting)
State Fire Marshal/Department of Public Safety Commissioners
Colonel Donald Long, 1979 – 1982
Colonel Lester Forst, 1982 – 1989
Bernard Sullivan, 1989 – 1991
Nicholas A. Cioffi, 1991 – 1995
Colonel Kenneth H. Kirschner, 1995 – 1997
Colonel William T. McGuire, 1997 – 1998
John A. Connelly, 1998
Dr. Henry C. Lee, 1998 – 2000
Arthur L. Spada, 2000 – 2004
Leonard C. Boyle, 2004 – 2007
John A. Danaher III, 2007 – 2010
James M. Thomas, 2010 – 2011
Reuben F. Bradford, 2011
State Fire Marshals
Sergeant Christopher Guari, 2011 (Acting)
Robert Ross, 2011 – 2013
William Abbott, 2013 – 2024
Lauri Volkert, 2024 – Present
Deputy State Fire Marshals 1901 to 2026
Deputy State Fire Marshals
Elmore S. Banks, 1901 – 1902
William E. Seeley, Jr, 1902 – 1905
Lieutenant Frank Virelli, 1936 – 1940
Lieutenant Gene Lenzi, 1940 - 1942
Lieutenant Frank A. Starkel,1942 – 1948 (Line of duty death)
Lieutenant Adolph Pastore, 1948 - 1958
Major Carroll Shaw, 1958 - 1970
Captain Richard Mulligan, 1970 - 1971
Captain Joseph Hart, 1971 – 1972
Lt. Colonel Norman Tasker, 1972 - 1975
Captain William Ellert, 1975 – 1978
Major Arthur Woodend, 1978 – 1980
Captain Leslie Williams, 1980 – 1981
Captain William Kirkby, 1981 – 1986
Major David Paige, 1986 – 1990
Captain Edmund Dunstone, 1990 – 1992
Sergeant Joseph Versteeg, 1992 (Acting)
Douglas Peabody, 1992 -1998
John Blaschik, Jr,1999 - 2010
Barry Rickert, 2010 - 2011
David Woods, 2025 - Present
The research for the information above and lists of State Fire Marshals and Deputy State Fire Marshals turned out some possible contradictions in dates and information. To the best of our knowledge, what has been published is accurate. If anyone has access to more precise information, please let us know as any additional information would be extremely helpful. A special thank you to all current, retired, and former OSFM staff, the Connecticut State Library staff, Connecticut State Police Museum staff, Bridgeport Library staff, DESPP staff, and DAS Human Resources staff for all your assistance with this research. If anyone has any questions, please reach out to Specialist Joe Duval in our Field Services Unit at joseph.duval@ct.gov
