The mission of the Gulfport Fire Department Fire Marshal's Office (FMO) is to protect life and property through the development and application of fire prevention engineering, education and enforcement.
Fire Marshal
The Fire Marshal is responsible for administering fire safety education, fire cause determination, inspection of business and multi-family occupancies. In addition to the FMO staff, all personnel assigned to the Operations Division carry a great deal of responsibility for assisting in the fire prevention mission of the department.
The Gulfport Fire Marshal's Office is located at Fire Station 17 at 5314 23rd Avenue South. Gulfport, Florida 33707. Office phone number is 727-893-1064; Fax number is 727-893-1060
Inspections & Enforcement
In 1995 the Gulfport FMO began charging fees for inspections of businesses. We will provide online information for businesses regarding this program. The FMO enforces the 2007 Florida Fire Code (FFC) and referenced NFPA Standards along with local amendments incorporated into the Gulfport Municipal Code (MC).
New Construction Inspections and Plans Review
The FMO is responsible for providing fire code plan review and inspection services. These services include pre-construction site plan reviews, construction final inspections, existing commercial building inspections, plan review and testing of fire protection systems, and reviewing storage plans for high-piled combustible and hazardous materials.
Presently One Part-time Fire Inspector is assigned to this task. The offices at the fire department are next door to the City Building Department to allow a seamless plan review process with other city inspection departments and officers.
Existing Buildings and Businesses Inspections
Existing commercial businesses may be accustomed to seeing Gulfport firefighters arrive at their business to do a walk-through or occupancy familiarization. These walk-through inspections should not be confused with fire-safety inspections conducted by the Fire Inspector. There is no fee associated with firefighters performing a walk-through or familiarization tour. Those visits are strictly for planning purposes in the event a fire should occur so that fire department staff becomes familiar with the layout of the facility. Fire Inspectors conduct inspections to verify that local businesses maintain facilities and operations in a fire-safe condition. Fees are charged for these inspections (Fee Schedule). Businesses are encouraged to check out the most common violations page to prepare for inspections. We also offer a Frequently Asked Questions page.
Fire Investigations Fire Inspectors also serve as the primary origin and cause investigators when fire cause is not readily apparent; there is a high dollar loss, explosion or an injury/death.
The objective of a fire investigation is to determine the origin and cause of the fire. Interviews must be conducted, evidence collected, and comprehensive reports of all findings prepared. To complete these tasks, the fire investigator follows rules governing proper crime scene techniques, interviewing strategies, and technical aspects of fire science.
If during the initial stages of inquiry, evidence of criminal activity is uncovered, the Fire Investigator must shift to his secondary role of identifying and moving against those responsible. In these cases, Investigators work in partnership with the City of Gulfport Police Department, as well as several other agencies like the Florida Fire Marshalls office, and FDLE, as well as Pinellas County Sheriff’s office and other local agencies to investigate. Together they develop the case, which may include filing criminal charges and serving as witnesses for the prosecution.
Public Education
The Gulfport Fire Department offers a small variety of community education programs. These programs are designed to prevent injury and property loss through increased education and public safety awareness. Helpful information is on this website.(coming soon). Call the FMO at 727-893-1064 to inquire about some of the educational programs offered.
