About our Agency
The Office of the State Fire Marshal is dedicated to protecting the lives and property of the citizens of Kansas from the hazards of fire, explosion, and natural and man-made disasters.
The OSFM is organized into four divisions: Investigation, Prevention, Emergency Response and Administration.
- The Prevention Division is focused on preventing accidental fires from beginning.
- Emergency Response focuses on the actual response to emergencies, including coordination of Hazardous Materials and Search and Rescue, by training and supporting response teams throughout the state.
- The Investigations Division determines the origin and cause of fires, aiding in the prosecution of arsonists and seeking out new or unknown fire hazards.
- The Administration Division encompasses agency leadership, financial control, information technology and public information.
Mission
The agency’s mission is to reduce the deaths, injuries, and property losses of Kansans through inspection, enforcement, regulation, investigation, education, hazardous material and search & rescue incident responses.
Our Purpose
To reduce the deaths, injuries, and property losses of Kansans through:
- Inspection
- Enforcement
- Plans Review
- Fireworks and Explosives Regulation
- Investigation
- Hazardous material incident mitigation
- Public education
- Coordination of search and rescue efforts
Doug Jorgensen was appointed the State Fire Marshal by Governor Brownback in July 2012. He previously held the position as the interim State Fire Marshal from January 2011‐July 2011.
Prior to joining the Brownback Administration, Jorgensen worked in law enforcement for more than 30 years. He began his career with the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department before serving at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for 28 years.
After he retired from the KBI in June of 2010, Doug served as the Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control in the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Doug has been a lifelong Kansan.
The agency maintains the Kansas Fire Incident Reporting System (KFIRS). This is a state-wide data collection system for fire and emergency incidents. After a fire department responds to an emergency scene, a KFIRS report is submitted to the State Fire Marshal's Office. These reports are then submitted to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). KFIRS reports include information on incident type, responding personnel, equipment and resources used, and firefighter injuries or fatalities.
The OSFM also maintains two other databases: the Kansas Burn Injury Reporting System and the Kansas Insurance Loss Reporting System. Hospitals across Kansas are required to submit notification to this agency when patients have received burns over 20% of their entire body. This information aids in fire prevention and investigation. Insurance companies are required to submit a report for every insurance loss over $500 due to fire. This database helps reveal the scope of economic loss due to fire within the state of Kansas.