​

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 28, 2018

Gov. Justice honors Three Fire Marshals

Elderly Mason man was victim of scam; Fire Marshals stepped in to help

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Governor Jim Justice is recognizing a trio from the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office who went above and beyond to aid a home repair scam victim in Mason County.

Assistant State Fire Marshals L.L. Price, T.S. Provaznik and S.E. Petry were honored during a Wednesday ceremony at the State Capitol. Deputy Chief of Staff Ann Urling presented their awards on behalf of Gov. Justice.

The three responded to a September complaint concerning electrical work performed on a single-family dwelling. The owner, a senior citizen, had hired a person he believed to be a West Virginia-licensed electrician and paid him in advance.

The marshals discovered that the man claiming to be an electrician had never obtained the appropriate state license. This individual was cited and later admitted to operating without a valid electrician’s license.

But the Fire Marshals also found that the electrical wiring this individual had installed posed an immediate hazard to anyone living in the home if activated.  The homeowner lacked the resources to hire someone else to bring his home into compliance with the electrical code.

Price, Provaznik and Petry stepped up. Price, a certified commercial and residential electrical inspector, reached out to former co-workers and formed a small team of licensed electricians to help with this project.  Aided by local business that donated materials, they rewired the home at no cost to the resident.

During the rewiring it was also noted that the resident had no working smoke alarms in the home. Those, too, were installed. 

I’m so proud to serve with such dedicated people that are second-to-none public servants,” said State Fire Marshal Ken Tyree. “They have gone above and beyond to help this man and have served his family with this act.”

###