Employers
Approximately 14,900 fire investigators and inspectors are employed in the United States. Local fire departments, individual state fire marshal offices, insurance companies, engineering firms focused on understanding fire, and private industry employ fire investigators. Some investigators are employed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and similar state and local agencies. Others work independently as consultants.
Starting Out
There is no straight path to becoming a fire investigator, and it is not an entry-level job. Most of the investigators who come from fire departments start out in the fire-prevention bureau. Others come from police departments. Fire investigation is a multidisciplinary field, which requires skills in many areas, including fire fighting, law enforcement, mechanical engineering, materials science, mathematics, and chemical engineering.
- Airport Security Personnel
- Armored Truck Drivers
- Bail Bondsmen
- Bodyguards
- Border Patrol Agents
- Bounty Hunters
- Chief Information Security Officers
- Construction Inspectors
- Corrections Officers
- Crime Analysts
- Cryptographic Technicians
- Customs Officials
- Cybersecurity Architects
- Deputy U.S. Marshals
- Detectives
- Directors of Security
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- FBI Agents
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- Fire Protection Engineers
- Fire Safety Directors
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- Firefighters
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- Forensic Experts
- Forest Fire Prevention Specialists
- Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts
- Genetic Genealogists
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- Locksmiths
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- Park Rangers
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- Police Officers
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- Private Investigators
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- Security Guards
- Security Systems Installers and Workers
- Wildland Firefighters