OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Inspect buildings to detect fire hazards and enforce local ordinances and state laws, or investigate and gather facts to determine cause of fires and explosions.
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Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Fire inspectors typically do the following:
- Search for fire hazards
- Ensure that buildings comply with fire codes
- Test fire alarms, sprinklers, and other fire protection equipment
- Inspect fuel storage tanks and air compressors
- Review emergency evacuation plans
- Conduct followup visits to make sure that infractions do not recur
- Review building plans with developers
- Conduct fire and safety education programs
- Maintain fire inspection files
- Administer burn permits and monitor controlled burns
Fire investigators typically do the following:
- Collect and analyze evidence from scenes of fires and explosions
- Interview witnesses
- Reconstruct the scene of a fire or arson
- Send evidence to laboratories to be tested for fingerprints or accelerants
- Analyze information with chemists, engineers, and attorneys
- Document evidence by taking photographs and creating diagrams
- Determine the origin and cause of a fire
- Keep detailed records and protect evidence for use in a court of law
- Testify in civil and criminal legal proceedings
- Exercise police powers, such as the power of arrest, and carry a weapon
Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists assess outdoor fire hazards in public and residential areas. They look for fire code infractions and for conditions that pose a wildfire risk. They also recommend ways to reduce fire hazards. During patrols, they enforce fire regulations and report fire conditions to their central command center.
Salary
Median salary: $64,610 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $50,230 and $81,800.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for fire inspectors
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Fire Inspectors and Investigators
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Fire Inspectors and Investigators? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Communication skills
Fire inspectors must clearly explain fire code violations to building and property managers. They must carefully interview witnesses as part of their factfinding mission.
Critical-thinking skills
Fire inspectors must be able to recognize code violations and recommend a way to fix the problem. They must be able to analyze evidence from a fire and come to a reasonable conclusion.
Detail oriented
Fire inspectors must notice details when inspecting a site for code violations or investigating the cause of a fire.
Physical strength
Fire investigators may have to move debris at the site of a fire in order to get a more accurate understanding of the scene.
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by fire inspectors and investigators
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), fire inspectors and investigators typically hold a postsecondary nondegree award.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as fire inspectors as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for fire inspectors and investigators
Because fire inspectors and investigators typically have previous work experience as a firefighter, many have completed a postsecondary educational program for emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Some employers prefer candidates with a 2- or 4-year degree in fire science, engineering, or chemistry. For those candidates interested in becoming forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists, a high school diploma or equivalent typically is required.
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for fire inspectors and investigators
Many states have certification exams that cover standards established by the National Fire Protection Association. Many states require additional training for inspectors and investigators each year in order for them to maintain their certification.
The National Fire Protection Association also offers several certifications, such as Certified Fire Inspector and Certified Fire Protection Specialist, for fire inspectors. Some jobs in the private sector require that job candidates already have these certifications.
In addition, fire investigators may choose to pursue certification from a nationally recognized professional association. Among such certifications and associations are the Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) certification from the International Association of Arson Investigators or the Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) certification from the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI). The process of obtaining certification can teach new skills and demonstrate competency.
Education level of Fire Inspectors
Only 23% of fire inspectors have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by fire inspectors
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
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Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Program
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
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Number of Fire Inspectors per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most fire inspectors and investigators? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as fire inspectors and investigators. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where fire inspectors and investigators earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for fire inspectors compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for fire inspectors.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which fire inspectors earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Fire Inspectors (ACS for all specialties)
Employment
6% of Fire inspectors are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 6% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 71% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of fire inspectors by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Fire inspectors and gender
With 13% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 76% of careers.
Gender of Fire inspectors
Men (87%)
Women (13%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median (middle) salary for all full-time male workers
in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%, and the difference
for fire inspectors tops that, with the median salary for
men 24% higher than the median
salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Fire inspectors
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Fire inspectors.
Race/origin of fire inspectors
White (83% )
Black (9% )
Other (2% )
Multiracial (2% )
American Indian (2% )
Asian (1% )
Hispanic (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
