There is established within the department a division of fire safety. Such division shall be under the supervision of an unclassified director who shall be known as the state fire marshal. The state fire marshal shall be nominated by the commissioner of safety, after consultation with the state advisory board of fire control, for appointment by the governor, with the consent of the council, and shall serve a term of 4 years until a successor is appointed. If no successor has been appointed with the consent of the council within 6 months of the expiration of the term, the governor shall appoint a successor with the consent of the council. The state fire marshal shall be academically and technically qualified to hold the position. The state fire marshal shall be a citizen of this state or become a citizen of this state within one year of his or her appointment. He or she shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of the division of fire safety and shall receive the salary specified in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 94:1-a for the state fire marshal. The state fire marshal shall be responsible for the following functions, in accordance with applicable law:
I. Investigation of the causes and circumstances of fires.

Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21-P:12

  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of these laws, shall mean the section next preceding or following that in which such reference is made, unless some other is expressly designated. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:13
  • state: when applied to different parts of the United States, may extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4

II. Fire safety regulations and education.
III. Coordination of state agency response to accidents involving hazardous materials, and regulation of liquid propane gas pipelines safety, except propane gas pipelines regulated by the public utilities commission pursuant to RSA 362. The director, with the approval of the commissioner, shall appoint a hazardous materials incident response coordinator who shall assist local incident commanders with command, logistics, and resources, coordinate the training and procedures of the state’s regional hazardous materials response teams in all areas of the state, oversee the preparedness of the hazardous materials response teams and assist local communities in their efforts to obtain reimbursement for emergency responses pursuant to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 154:8-a, II-a.
III-a. Administration of the modular building standards program under RSA 205-C.
IV. Carrying out all other functions assigned to him in N.H. Rev. Stat. Chapter 153 or any other provision of law.
V. [Repealed.]
VI. [Repealed.]
VII. Administration, supervision, and enforcement of N.H. Rev. Stat. § 153:27-38. There is hereby established within the department of safety a bureau of building safety and construction under the supervision of the state fire marshal, which shall include the mechanical safety staff.
VIII. Provision of clerical support for the state advisory board of fire control.

[Paragraph IX effective until November 1, 2030.]


IX. Participation in an advisory capacity in state agency siting of hydrogen facilities, transportation, and storage, and the permitting and coordination of state agency response to accidents at facilities that produce more than 20 MW of electricity, involving hydrogen and hydrogen gas safety, in coordination with the hydrogen advisory committee in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 362-H:3.