Protective Service · Holland code RCI

Fire Inspectors and Investigators

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.

Also called: Arson Investigator, Fire Inspector, Fire Investigator, Fire Prevention Inspector, Fire Code Inspector, Fire Official, Fire Prevention Specialist, Fire Protection Specialist.

O*NET 33-2021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $75,920; Middle half earn $58,690 to $95,120. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Secondary Certificate; 27% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Prepare and maintain reports of investigation results, and records of convicted arsonists and arson suspects.
Testify in court cases involving fires, suspected arson, and false alarms.
Package collected pieces of evidence in securely closed containers, such as bags, crates, or boxes, to protect them.
Conduct inspections and acceptance testing of newly installed fire protection systems.
Analyze evidence and other information to determine probable cause of fire or explosion.
Subpoena and interview witnesses, property owners, and building occupants to obtain information and sworn testimony.
Photograph damage and evidence related to causes of fires or explosions to document investigation findings.
Inspect buildings to locate hazardous conditions and fire code violations, such as accumulations of combustible material, electrical wiring problems, and inadequate or non-functional fire exits.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.6 / 5
Writing3.5 / 5
Speaking3.5 / 5
Critical Thinking3.5 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.4 / 5
Monitoring3.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

Public Safety and Security4.7 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.3 / 5
Building and Construction4.2 / 5
Law and Government4.1 / 5
Education and Training4.0 / 5
English Language3.7 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic75
Investigative56
Artistic0
Social26
Enterprising39
Conventional70

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

fire commissioner · DE Brandinspektor/Brandinspektorin · FR chef de centre d'incendie et de secours
chief fire officer · DE Feuerwehrkommandant/Feuerwehrkommandantin · FR responsable de sécurité civile et de secours
fire prevention and protection engineer · DE Brandschutzingenieur/Brandschutzingenieurin · FR ingénieur sécurité incendie/ingénieure sécurité incendie
fire inspector · DE Brandschutzinspektor/Brandschutzinspektorin · FR inspecteur de conformité en sécurité incendie/inspectrice de conformité en sécurité incendie
fire protection technician · DE Brandschutztechniker/Brandschutztechnikerin · FR technicien de maintenance sécurité alarme incendie/technicienne de maintenance sécurité alarme incendie
fire safety tester · DE Werkstoffprüfer Feuerfestigkeit/Werkstoffprüferin Feuerfestigkeit · FR technicien de préparation essais résistance au feu/technicienne de préparation essais résistance au feu

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (1163)8,000 employed
Heavy and large goods vehicle drivers (8211)273,400 employed
Fire service officers (watch manager and below) (3313)45,100 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.06. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (33-2021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test