Crime & Scandals

Nevada’s Top Fire Official Fired After Alleged DUI Crash

Posted on: February 26, 2026, 07:20h.

Last updated on: February 27, 2026, 04:34h.

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Corey Levitan Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas...
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Nevada’s State Fire Marshal has been fired following a DUI arrest
Joseph Rodriguez allegedly crashed a state vehicle early Saturday morning in Sparks, Nev.
The military veteran and former school board member is scheduled to appear in court on March 9

Nevada terminated its top fire official on Wednesday, February 25, following his arrest for a suspected DUI.

Joseph Rodriguez was appointed the State Fire Marshal of Nevada last September. (Image: Nevada State Police)

Joseph Rodriguez, 41, was booked into jail at 3:10 a.m. Saturday, February 21, in Sparks, Nevada, where Washoe County Sheriff’s deputies say he crashed a state-owned vehicle.

The State Fire Marshal’s blood-alcohol content was not publicly released. However, the Nevada Department of Public Safety (NDPS) has a zero-tolerance policy for state officials operating government equipment.

Rodriguez was placed on administrative leave on Monday while police launched both criminal and internal investigations. However, on Wednesday, his leave became permanent.

In the interim, the Nevada State Fire Marshal Division is operating under the temporary oversight of the NDPS’s State Police Investigation Division “to ensure continuity of operations,” according to an NDPS press release.

In the release, the department said it “remains committed to professionalism, accountability and the continued delivery of services to Nevada’s communities and partner agencies.”

Because it is considered a personnel matter, the department declined to comment further.

Rodriguez currently still serves on the Sparks, Nevada City Council, to which he was elected in November 2024. Following his release from the Washoe County Jail on Feb. 21, he attended the council’s February 23 meeting via Zoom.

Before being appointed as State Fire Marshal, Rodriguez was a Washoe County School Board member. His upstanding background also includes law enforcement, firefighting, and military service — including two deployments to Afghanistan as a military police officer in the Nevada Army National Guard.,

Rodriguez is due in court on March 9 to answer the charges.

Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas.

Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city’s history. (For “Fear and Loafing,” he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.)

Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post.

Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook.

Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.