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01/31/2018 07:30 AMDeep River’s Peter Terenzi, recently appointed Old Saybrook’s new permanent fire marshal, is a man who truly loves his job. Making sure that public places—where people eat, shop, see a show, or stay overnight—comply with life safety code rules is his mission.
“As fire marshal, you’re granted an opportunity to protect people’s safety. You’re making sure that when they go out [to public places] that they are protected, that they’re safe,” Peter says. “It’s a calling for me—I sincerely care. I think it is a privilege to serve in public safety.”
Few people are as enthusiastic and excited about the daily work and responsibilities of their jobs as Peter.
Named interim Old Saybrook fire marshal in June 2017 to fill the vacancy left by Donn Dobson’s resignation, Peter was appointed as the permanent town fire marshal in December 2017 by the Board of Selectmen.
Peter brings a wealth of experience to his new post. For nearly 30 years, he served in law enforcement, the last 25 years with the Connecticut State Police; he retired six years ago as a lieutenant colonel. In that role, he oversaw the Fire and Explosion Unit of the state police responsible for investigating fires of criminal origin. He has held a fire marshal certification since 1983 and has taught fire marshal certification classes.
In his hometown of Deep River, Peter serves as a volunteer firefighter, which means he has to keep up to date all of his firefighter and firefighter instructor certifications in addition to his fire marshal certification.
“There’s nothing like responding to a fire as a firefighter when you’ve already investigated that type of fire as a fire marshal,” Peter says.
As fire marshal, his duties and responsibilities are spelled out in part in the mandate in the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code: “Each local fire marshal shall inspect or cause to be inspected at least once each calendar year or as often as prescribed by the state fire marshal, in the interests of public safety, all buildings and facilities of public service and all occupancies.”
In Old Saybrook, there are between 1,200 and 1,400 buildings of public occupancy that would fall within the state definition. Many sites, based on type of use, must have annual inspections while others only need inspections every two or every three years.
When the code is followed, fires are prevented, and if a fire does occur, people can quickly and safely exit a building.
Peter’s first check of each building on the list will take a little extra time, as he seeks to validate its compliance with code requirements. Subsequent inspections of the same addresses won’t take as long as his first one.
An inspection of a small business might take between 1 and 1 ½ hours; to write up the inspection report, with findings matched to each relevant code section by number, takes another 60 to 90 minutes.
Serious violations might include a blocked exit, a sprinkler system that’s turned off, or a fire alarm system that’s not operational. Those issues have to be addressed right away, for safety reasons.
“Most town businesses are in good shape. They’re attuned to making the space look presentable for the benefit of their patrons. Restaurants have been right above board—exits are free and fire extinguishers are current,” Peter says. “Every type of business has different applicable rules under the life safety code. Ninety percent of a fire marshal’s job is education.”
Fire marshals are also responsible for reviewing plans for new construction for life safety code compliance and for investigating fires that occur in town to identify the fire’s cause and origin. Law enforcement is called in when a fire seems suspicious.
“I was surprised by how many calls the Fire Department responds to each day. When the department goes to a fire, I go, too,” Peter says.
Peter uses a special cloud-based software package called Code Pal, which helps him manage and track site inspections, conduct inspection reports, and record address-specific information that would help a firefighter responding to an incident there. That type of report, called a Pre-Plan, is a document the town fire chief can access from his car on his way to a fire. It might include information critical to the chief’s plan for fighting the fire, such as the type of construction, whether hazardous materials would be present, or whether a disabled person might be living at the address.
“Having this job as town fire marshal is a privilege. I am so fortunate to be able to make a difference in people’s lives and to keep them safe,” Peter says.