On April 17 – 18, 2019, The Vision 20/20 Project convened thirty participants representing stakeholder groups such as the fire service, academia, government, non-profit, and private sector organizations, for a two-day Smoke Alarm Summit at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This summit was organized as a follow-up to the original 2015 Smoke Alarm Summit conducted by The Vision 20/20 Project and the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. The goal of the 2019 Summit was to revisit the original summit recommendations, note the progress made since that time, and to provide recommendations for actions steps that would continue to lead the United States toward having more working smoke alarms in homes.
Joseph Walters
Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshall (OSFM)
Executive Officer
Joe Walters is the Executive Officer for the State Fire Marshal, with the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal (OSFM). As the first “Executive Officer ” Joe has been integral in moving the OSFM into the 21st century, from technology advancements, fleet refreshments, equipment needs to health and wellness awareness. Since 2016, he has also led a part in the agencies community risk reduction programs. He has been proactive in fire prevention programs throughout the State and has assisted with the dissemination of important fire & life saving information via social media and other platforms. He currently sits on the Mid Atlantic Life Safety Conference Committee as the operations command, trying to enhance the program. By trade he is a fire investigator and worked in the field for several years prior to the appointment of Executive Officer. He worked several high profile cases and made many arson and explosive related arrests. He has had the opportunity to sit in forums such as the Truman Symposiums and the FEMA AFG content development group. On his off time, he is a 20-year veteran of the volunteer fire service where he currently serves in the role of Captain. He has held many roles including Assistant Treasurer and Vice President. He is also an instructor for the National Safe Boating Council and specialize in the maritime rescue discipline. He and his wife own a small custom t-shirt business, which was started just before the birth of their child, in 2015. When not working, he loves sitting on the Chesapeake Bay on his boat or tearing up the mud four wheeling in the woods.
