State Fire Marshal’s Office welcomes Peyton Bullen as Director of Fire Prevention Programs and Policy Development

NASHVILLE, TN – The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office is proud to announce the recent hiring of Peyton Bullen as Director of Fire Prevention Programs and Policy Development. Bullen comes to the Department of Commerce and Insurance and State Fire Marshal’s Office with more than a decade of experience in fire prevention-focused evaluation, assessment, policy development, and instruction.  

 

“We are thrilled to have Peyton joining our team,” says Assistant Commissioner Gary West. “We consider ourselves very lucky to have Peyton bring his expertise and long-history of fire service to the State Fire Marshal’s Office. We look forward to working with him to extend our reach and capacity across the state.” 

 

Bullen, who is originally from McComb, Mississippi, began volunteering at the Wetumpka Fire Department in Alabama at the age of 17. 

 

While in college, Peyton volunteered with the Southwest Lee County Fire Department in Auburn, Alabama, serving as a captain and training officer during his five-year tenure. In 2002, the city of Auburn hired Peyton to work full-time as a paid firefighter. He graduated with high honors from his recruit class and served as an apparatus engineer with the Auburn Fire Division until 2005, when ISO hired him as the Fire Protection Field Analyst for Tennessee.

 

As a Fire Protection Analyst, Peyton excelled in this position early by earning the Certificate of High Honors for the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule.  Peyton was able to continue his success of exceeding performance expectations each year by developing, implementing and sharing a number of innovative work flows aimed at streamlining data collection. Tennessee’s unique demographics required Peyton to become well versed in both rural alternate water supplies and large municipalities including Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee. In 2012, Peyton was promoted to Manager of Community Hazard Mitigation where he managed twenty Fire Protection Field Analysts in ten states including Tennessee. In addition to his management duties, Peyton also chaired the development of ISO’S production system. 

 

Peyton has most recently served as the assistant fire chief of the Almaville Volunteer Fire Rescue Department (AVFD) in Rutherford County, Tennessee, approximately 30 miles southeast of Nashville. During his tenure, Peyton spearheaded the implementation of new minimum firefighter training standards, a new driver/engineer training program, and created new standard operating guidelines to help the department better meet the needs of the community.

 

Peyton holds the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) designation, as well as many certifications from the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications, including Fire Officer II, Fire Officer I, Fire Investigator, Apparatus Operator Aerial, Apparatus Operator Pumper, Fire Fighter II, Fire Fighter I, Fire Instructor I, and Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations.

 

“I’m really excited to get working with Commissioner McPeak and Assistant Commissioner West,” says Bullen. “I see a lot of untapped potential here and I look forward to helping make a difference for our communities from throughout Tennessee.” 

 

For more information on the State Fire Marshal’s Office and Fire Prevention Division visit http://tn.gov/fire/index.shtml.

 

The State Fire Marshal’s Office (www.tn.gov/commerce/sfm/) is a division of the Department of Commerce and Insurance (www.tn.gov/commerce/), which works to protect consumers while ensuring fair competition for industries and professionals who do business in Tennessee. 

 

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