Queen Anne’s County Native Nominated as Deputy State Fire Marshal of the Year

Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Brad Childress has been selected as Deputy State Fire Marshal of the Year for the Upper Eastern Regional Office. The Upper Eastern Regional Office consists of Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, and Talbot counties. He will join other Deputy State Fire Marshals who will be chosen throughout the state for the 2019 James C. Robertson Deputy State Fire Marshal of the Year Award.

Senior Deputy Childress worked consistently and efficiently to ensure he provided the best service to the State of Maryland. Childress handled nearly a third of the fire investigations in the Upper Eastern Region, with 25 of the 85 total fire and explosives investigations as well as volunteering to be on-call investigator for the Lower Eastern Regional Office when their office requested staffing assistance.

Senior Deputy Childress worked relentlessly on ten criminal cases, which lead to seven arrests and five cases closed by arrest. In addition to a 50% closure rate, he also had seven convictions during 2019. His criminal investigations included cases of fraud, pyromania, and curiosity. These statistics not only show his hard work to ensure criminals are held responsible for their actions, but his work is thorough and efficient. Senior Deputy Childress reached this level of success in only ten months of the 2019 year. Given another two months of opportunity, Deputy Childress would have closed several other cases and added even more arrests to his totals in 2019. Unfortunately, Deputy Childress was forced to undergo intrusive open heart surgery in November. However, the operation did not stop him, as he was determined to recover and return to work as soon as possible. In fact, Deputy Childress returned to work four weeks earlier than anticipated with a stronger work ethic and passion for life.

While not handling fire investigations, Senior Deputy Childress conducted 99 inspections during 2019. He is always willing to assist with inspections and brings forth the knowledge and experience necessary to the regional Fire Safety Inspector. He offers support to the entire region with his willingness to swap on-call days, handle complaints, and manage special assignments. He provides instruction for Fire Investigation and Arson Awareness for the Maryland Fire Rescue Institute in Centreville and the local high school.

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~ MD State Fire Marshal