By Matt Murphy
The Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The captain of the Charleston Fire Department has been named the new West Virginia Fire Marshal.
Ken Tyree, who is part of the Charleston department’s fire prevention bureau, will take the state fire marshal’s position on Jan. 1 after the current fire marshal, Tony Carrico, leaves for a new position at the end of the month.
Tyree’s appointment was approved by the West Virginia Fire Commission at a meeting Monday morning.
As state fire marshal, Tyree will oversee an office that deals with everything from investigations of fires with death or large loss to certification of home inspectors and electricians to public education to services for fire departments across the state.
The fire marshal answers to the state Fire Commission.
“I know it’s going to be quite a responsibility,” Tyree said. “I’m up for the challenge — I look forward to it.”
Tyree is a 20-year veteran of the Charleston fire department, having started in February 1994. Two years after he came on board, he took a position in the department’s Fire Prevention Bureau, where he has remained.
A Kanawha Valley native, Tyree graduated from South Charleston High School and West Virginia State University before spending nine years in the U.S. Air Force. He joined the fire department after returning to West Virginia.
Tyree is eligible for retirement from the department and said he plans to retire Dec. 31 before taking his new position, which he said he’s “absolutely” excited about.
Tyree said he plans to spend his first few weeks as fire marshal analyzing how that office functions and where he’d like to make changes. He said he wants to continue the office’s emphasis on educating the public about fire safety and prevention with the goal of reducing the number of fatal fires in West Virginia.
“That aim of educating the public is going to be crucial,” he said.
In that aspect, Tyree has his work laid out for him.
Preliminary data from the U.S. Fire Administration — a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency — shows 37 fatal fires have occurred in West Virginia in 2014.
Using 2011 data, the same office reported that West Virginia is the ninth-highest state for relative risk of dying in a fire.
Tyree said it takes all the divisions of the fire marshal’s office “to really come to a point where we have a good vision of where we need to go.”
Fire Commission Chairman Carl Sizemore said Tyree’s experience and contacts throughout the state made him a great candidate for the job.
“I think his career history and the knowledge and professionalism he will bring to this position will be very helpful in the state,” Sizemore said.
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(c)2014 the Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, W.Va.)
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