Texas. State Fire Marshal.

The Texas State Fire Marshal's Office (SFMO), a program of the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) (known as the State Board of Insurance during this time period), originated in 1910. Its primary objective has always been to reduce the incidence and severity of fires, thereby decreasing fire deaths, injuries and property losses. From the beginningof the program in 1910 until 1975, the Commissioner of Insurance or a member of the State Board of Insurance (SBI) served as state fire marshal. The 1975 legislation mandated the appointment of a state fire marshal who would be a state commissioned officer and would administer, enforce, and carry out the applicable provisions of the Texas Insurance Code and other statutes. Responsibilities included those relative to: arson investigations, fire safety inspections, flammable liquids at retail service stations, licensing and regulation of fireworks, fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and the state fire escape law. The SFMO was authorized in 1980 to implement a Texas Fire Incident Report System (TEXFIRS), which went on-line in 1982. Legislation in 1991 consolidated the SFMO with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and Personnel Standards and Education and the Firemen's Pension Commission. In 1997 the State Fire Marshal's Office was returned to the Texas Department of Insurance.

(Sources: internet webpages of the Texas Department of Insurance and the State Fire Marshal's Office, viewed in June 2006, http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/fire/index.html ; and http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/fire/fmhistoy.html.)

...