Chief Deputy John Dorff, 48, a firefighter with the Nevada State Fire Marshal Division, succumbed to leukemia and passed away May 30, 1995. He was known as a fighter both on and off the front line, investigating fires. Under his guidance, the state Fire Marshal’s Office exceeded the national average in arson arrests. He had been with the Fire Marshal’s Office since 1986.
After service in the U.S. Army ending in 1968, John began his public service career in the Burbank Police Department, where he gained experience throughout that department in motor patrol, traffic, investigations, and training. He received six professionalism awards, three Officer of the Year awards, and one Officer of the Quarter award. He was most proud of his elimination of one of the Hillside Strangler suspects through his investigation efforts. After his retirement from Burbank, John came to Nevada and began service with Youth Services in the Carson City Juvenile Justice Center and Youth Parole Bureau, where he was a counselor best known for his personal supervision and guidance of troubled youths.
In 1986, Mr. Dorff came to the State Fire Marshal Division as a Deputy State Fire Marshal II. and As a deputy, he established an investigative reporting and case management system that was adopted by this office and has also been copied by numerous fire and law enforcement agencies. He also managed to maintain the highest level of inspection services in the division during his entire tenure.