State Fire Marshal

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Special agents, serving as Deputy State Fire Marshals in the Office of the State Fire Marshal, use the scientific method to conduct investigations of fires and explosions for origin and cause.

Deputy State Fire Marshals classify fire events as accidental, natural, incendiary or undetermined. Fire classifications may be used for assignment of responsibility, reporting purposes and compilation of statistics.

Accidental fires involve those that do not involve an intentional human act.  Natural fire causes involve fires without direct human intervention, such as fires resulting from lightning, wind or an earthquake.  Incendiary fires are intentionally ignited fires in which the person setting the fire knows the fire should not be ignited.  When the​ cause of a fire cannot be proven at an acceptable level of certainty, it is classified as undetermined.  Fires in which the level of certainty is possible or suspected, but not confirmed, are classified as undetermined.​ 

​​Types of Fires
​How They're Classified​

​​​Accidental

​​​Accidental fires involve those that do not involve an intentional human act.

​Natural
​Natural fire causes involve fires without direct human intervention, such as fires resulting from lightning, wind or an earthquake.
​Incendiary
​​​​Incendiary fires are intentionally ignited fires in which the person setting the fire knows the fire should not be ignited. 
​​Undetermined ​
​When the cause of a fire cannot be proven at an acceptable level of certainty, it is classified as undetermined.  ​


​Deputy State Fire Marshals use various methods to document and further investigations.  Deputy State Fire Marshals must qualify as an expert witness in the area of fire science in a court of law for each case they testify in.  In addition, many cases that the Fire Marshal's Office investigates​ are linked to other crimes such as fraud or homicide. Deputy State Fire Marshals work with law enforcement agencies and fire departments throughout the State of Wisconsin and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; they do not investigate fires or explosions at the request of insurance companies or private individuals.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal has two ignitable liquid detection canines, trained to alert in areas which may contain potential accelerants. These canine agents, which are certified by the US Department of Justice -Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), are used by the Office of the State Fire Marshal during their investigations and are a resource for local law enforcement and fire department agencies in Wisconsin and throughout the region.

The State Fire Marshal does not have responsibility for building codes or fire statistics (see instead Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services) or firefighter training or records (see instead Wisconsin Technical Colleges).

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Safety and Professional Services