fire marshal
13
3.8
- noun
- /ˈfaɪər ˈmɑːrʃəl/
- Formal
:
inspector de incendios
- The phone rings again; this time, announcing the early arrival of the fire marshal and his assistant.
- the fire marshal's office
- state fire marshal
- county fire marshal
Examples
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The fire marshal traced the origin of the explosion back to the gas line, here.
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During the safety meeting, the fire marshal explained the new fire regulations to all employees.
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We're in enough trouble with the fire marshal as it is.
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You explained to the fire marshal that we're in here changing the world?
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The fire marshal threatened to shut me down.
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Look, the fire marshal's not gonna let the show go on.
Fiction book (1991) -
The fire marshal's gonna call you before the day's out.
Fiction book (1999) -
A fire marshal and a cop are talking at the doorway in the background.
Fiction book (1991) -
In Keene, the fire marshal stopped people from crowding into a library meeting room to hear him.
Blog text (2) -
A Mecklenburg County fire marshal was notified, and all Davidson units cleared the scene without incident.
Blog text (17)
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound meaning is directly derivable from 'fire' (relating to fires) + 'marshal' (an official): it denotes an official responsible for fire-related matters. This noun–noun composition follows a common productive pattern (e.g., 'police chief', 'fire inspector') and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Fire marshal combines fire and marshal, where a marshal was an official who kept order and gave orders. So a fire marshal is the official who is 'in charge' at fires, checks buildings, and makes sure safety rules are followed.