Did you ask him what he would do, and under what authority, code, etc. he would have the ability to do anything about it if one tested wrong?
I bet he could not even tell you what NEC section would be violated if he found one that was wrong.
I don't get too involved with Fire Marshal's inspectors very often, but I must say from what I have observed, they are not consistent at all as compared to State Electrical Division. Even same inspector will not be consistent from one installation to another.
The Fire Marshal's office in NE has different guys that cover different things, like one guy pretty much only looks at things like egress, fire rated construction type things, maybe the need for fire sprinkler systems, but not necessarily the actual inspection of a sprinkler system, then you have guys that only inspect fuel handling and dispensing and other similar installations. They may know some electrical but generally do not get involved with electrical - that is for the electrical inspectors.
I have been on more than one job where the fuel piping guys have to wait for Fire marshal, and he must watch them do certain tasks to ensure they are done correctly
. And these are guys that are supposed to be professionals, and have gone through certification and licensing just like many other professionals. Glad they don't make electrical inspectors watch every move I make when doing certain tasks. How would you like it if you needed a life saving surgery immediately and the hospital said, sorry we can't perform your operation right now because there is no state inspector currently available to ensure your procedure is done correctly, you are going to have to wait until 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on a non holiday weekday, and even then we need to look at scheduling of the inspector, someone else may be in line to be inspected first.:roll: