TN State Fire Marshal-FIREcomm February 2026

[Cross, Steve]

Please see below for the latest edition of the TN State Fire Marshal's Office Firecomm newsletter.

Steve

Steven E. Cross, MA, CFO
Fire Management Consultant | Program Manager
UT Municipal Technical Advisory Service

1610 University Avenue
Knoxville, Tennessee 37921

Steven...@tennessee.edu
(615) 532.7108 | (931) 981.3593 Cell

mtas.tennessee.edu

 

 

FIREcomm February 2026

Feburary 2026 Apply TODAY for the $5M Rescue Squad Grant Progam Ahead of Feb. 20 Deadline Don't delay! Applications will be accepted until 2:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 for grants through Rescue Squad Grant Program (RSGP). A step-by-step guide to registering to submit an application is available  in our webinar which can be found here.  A blank W-9 form is available here.   Remember: Eligible rescue squads must have an active registration with the Tennessee Secretary of State and provide a letter stating they are recognized by the local government to provide rescue squad services. Questions? Contact Director of Grants and Contracts Loren Haynes at  loren....@tn.gov or by phone at (615) 806-3725. "Get Alarmed, Tennessee!" Now Includes FREE Carbon Monoxide Detectors Starting in 2026, the life-saving power of our "Get Alarmed, Tennessee!" smoke alarm program will include FREE carbon monoxide detectors, too. In 2025, the SFMO began providing carbon monoxide (CO) alarms to fire departments as the detectors became available and started the process of acquiring more CO detectors via a federal grant. The SFMO is now in possession of a new supply of smoke alarms and CO detectors and wants to further support Tennesseans in the wake of Winter Storm Fern.  See our press release here.  Want more information about how you and your department can schedule a smoke alarm canvass in your community this year? Contact Community Risk Reduction Coordinator Amber Crawford at (615) 878-9984 or by email at amber.c...@tn.gov A Fond Farewell to Jeff Elliott Commissioner Carter Lawrence and Team TDCI recently said goodbye to Jeff Elliott, who is leaving his role as executive director of the Tennessee State Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy (TFACA) for an exciting job in the private sector! Prior to his appointment as TFACA's executive director, Jeff served as TFACA’s Fire Program Director from 2012 to 2019 and previously had a distinguished career with the City of Franklin, where he was a career firefighter for over 25 years. We thank Jeff for his years of dedication, hard work, and leadership, and we wish him the very best in his new endeavors. Register Today for the Tennessee Fire Safety Summit  Register for the Tennessee Fire Safety Summit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tennessee-fire-safety-summit-in-knoxville-clarksville-tickets-1981241834661?aff=oddtdtcreator Incident Approval Every report in NERIS must be approved as the final step in the reporting process. For RMS Users: Incidents are approved within your RMS and submitted as approved via the API. For Direct Entry Users: Each incident must be manually approved in NERIS. Steps to Approve an Incident: -Log in to NERI -Navigate to My Account → Membership → View Incidents -Click the incident number hyperlink to open the report. -Review the details and select Approve if appropriate. -Note: There is currently no video tutorial for this process. For assistance, contact the Fire Data Program Manager Kyle Evans at kyle.r...@tn.gov Reporting No Activity If your agency has had no incidents to report for the previous month, you must still Report No Activity. Steps to Report No Activity: -Log in to NERIS -Select Log an Incident -From the dropdown, choose Report No Activity. -Enter the Month and Year you are reporting. -Check the box certifying no activity was performed. -Click Submit. Watch the Video Tutorial Visit our Website