Are You Ready for 'The Big One'? What to Do and When to Do It During a Large-Scale Fire

Minnesota State Fire Marshal Jim Smith & SFMD Staff | State Fire Marshal Track |
2021 Annual Conference

Session Description
Large scale fires develop quickly, last for an extensive period of time, and often times lead to significant loss of life or property. The unique circumstances surrounding a large scale fire can stress the resources of even the most well trained and proven fire department. Large scale fire incidents can escalate at an astounding rate and it is not unusual to experience overwhelming circumstances within seconds of being on-scene. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division has been involved with several large scale fire incidents throughout the state, and during this presentation will spotlight various fires and the circumstances that led to their escalation, management, and resolve.

Minnesota State Fire Marshal Jim Smith
Jim Smith was appointed the state fire marshal in December 2019. Prior to that, he served as the State Fire Marshal Division chief deputy for five years.

Before joining the State Fire Marshal Division, Smith was assistant chief of operations of the Saint Paul Fire Department.

Smith has been in the fire service since August 1980. He started his career with the New Hope and Maple Grove fire departments. He became a nationally registered paramedic in 1987 and worked for North Memorial Ambulance for six years.

Smith continued his firefighting/paramedic career with the Edina Fire Department and then transferring over to the Saint Paul Fire Department in 1992. During his 22 ½  years with SPFD, Jim worked as a firefighter/paramedic, training officer, fire captain, rescue squad/hazardous materials captain, district chief and assistant chief.

In 2008, he was the special operations chief for the Republican National Convention. Smith also served on Minnesota Task Force-1 as a task force leader and sat on the Program Management Group.