Office of the Fire Marshal Unveils New Unit Patch

At the beginning of the year on Jan. 1, the Office of the Fire Marshal unveiled its new unit patch, identifying the three divisions within the organization. Historically, hazardous materials inspectors, emergency responders, fire prevention Officers, fire investigators and select household hazardous waste staff have worn the department’s Class C uniform with the designated San Bernardino County Fire Department patch. When management made the decision for staff to wear dual shoulder patches, it was decided that a distinction between fire suppression and other uniformed San Bernardino County fire staff would reduce confusion to the public and within the department ranks. The OFM is made up of fire prevention (community safety), HazMat (CUPA) and household hazardous waste (HHW) staff who provide regulatory, enforcement and service functions related to fire and life safety, as well as support of fire suppression units in the form of emergency response and fire investigations. The mission of the OFM is to protect the public, firefighters and business owners and the environment from hazards associated with building construction, fire code enforcement, hazardous materials handling and the disposal of hazardous waste in a safe and responsible manner. The OFM provides additional closely related services through hazardous materials emergency response, fire investigations and law enforcement activities that directly support county firefighters. Many times, OFM staff has been misidentified as fire suppression personnel. The new patch is a right shoulder patch that identifies OFM’s divisions (HazMat, prevention, HHW and arson), which also reflect the OFM's mission of support through education, engineering and enforcement within the fire department. The OFM's connection to the department is represented by the Maltase Cross, as well as San Bernardino County’s distinct arrowhead, displayed in the center of the patch. Several staff members participated in a competition to create a design that represented the OFM department with respect, professionalism and distinction. The new OFM right shoulder patch will be worn on all class A, B and C uniforms. Some other changes to the uniform policy included the replacement of red structure helmets with yellow helmets, and the removal of collar brass for all OFM staff, with the exception of supervisors and management staff. Moving into the future, the OFM continues to serve San Bernardino County businesses, residents and county fire staff.