Fire Inspectors and Investigators
On the Job
Fire Inspectors and Investigators inspect buildings to see if they are at risk for fire. They enforce local and state laws. They also investigate buildings that have had a fire to determine the cause.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Examine crime scenes to obtain evidence.
- Examine debris to obtain information about causes of fires.
- Interview people to gather information about criminal activities.
- Investigate crimes committed within organizations.
- Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
- Prepare investigation or incident reports.
- Record crime or accident scene evidence with video or still cameras.
- Record information about suspects or criminals.
- Apprehend criminal suspects.
- Review documents or materials for compliance with policies or regulations.
Typical Working Conditions
- Using e-mail.
- Working in a closed vehicle or equipment.
- The freedom to determine tasks, priorities, and goals.
- Freedom to make decisions without supervision.
- Dealing with external customers.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.

This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.