City of Coachella – Office of the Fire Marshal

The City of Coachella’s Office of the Fire Marshal is dedicated to safeguarding the community by reducing the risk of fire and injury through prevention, inspection, and code enforcement. The office is led by a Deputy Fire Marshal and a Fire Safety Specialist.

The Fire Prevention team supports public safety through the following key functions:

• Code Enforcement: Adopts and enforces fire and life safety codes and ordinances related to commercial, industrial, and residential development.
• Inspections: Conducts inspections of commercial properties and enforces hazardous materials regulations to ensure code compliance and public safety.
• Development Review: Works closely with developers and the City’s Planning Department to evaluate projects that impact fire protection services—from initial concept through final approval.
• Construction Oversight: Performs inspections for new construction, general fire safety, and State Fire Marshal-mandated occupancies, including high-rise buildings, detention facilities, residential care, and daycare centers.
• Plan Review: Reviews architectural plans, development proposals, and related documents in collaboration with developers, architects, and engineers to ensure fire protection requirements are met.
• Business Inspection Program: Coordinates inspections of businesses throughout the City of Coachella to identify and mitigate fire and life safety hazards.

While the City of Coachella contracts fire suppression services through Riverside County Fire, all fire prevention, plan review, and inspection functions are managed directly to the City Fire Marshal Office.

Fire Prevention Staff

Carlos Rodriguez, Deputy Fire Marshal     Email: CarlosM.Rodriguez@fire.ca.gov

Maria Escobedo, Fire Safety Specialist       Email: Maria.Escobedo@fire.ca.gov

Submitting Plans and Contact Information

Plans for new construction, fire protection systems, tenant improvements, and other fire-related permits may be submitted through the Riverside County permitting portal at www.rivcoplus.org.

Planning applications should be submitted directly to the City of Coachella at Planning@coachella.org.

For inspection scheduling or general inquiries, please contact the Office of the Fire Marshal at OFM@coachella.org, or reach out directly to the assigned staff member.