An official State of Ohio site. Here’s how you know
Contact

Welcome,
New User

User: New User

Date: 01/13/2026

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.

View All

    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Examine fire sites and collect evidence such as glass, metal fragments, charred wood, and accelerant residue for use in determining the cause of a fire.
    • Develop or review fire exit plans.
    • Analyze evidence and other information to determine probable cause of fire or explosion.
    • Supervise staff, training them, planning their work, and evaluating their performance.
    • Dust evidence or portions of fire scenes for latent fingerprints.
    • Write detailed reports of fire inspections performed, fire code violations observed, and corrective recommendations offered.
    • Develop and coordinate fire prevention programs, such as false alarm billing, fire inspection reporting, and hazardous materials management.
    • Supervise staff, training them, planning their work, and evaluating their performance.
    • Inspect properties that store, handle, and use hazardous materials to ensure compliance with laws, codes, and regulations, and issue hazardous materials permits to facilities found in compliance.
    • Prepare and maintain reports of investigation results, and records of convicted arsonists and arson suspects.
    • Identify corrective actions necessary to bring properties into compliance with applicable fire codes, laws, regulations, and standards, and explain these measures to property owners or their representatives.
    • Arrange for the replacement of defective fire fighting equipment and for repair of fire alarm and sprinkler systems, making minor repairs such as servicing fire extinguishers when feasible.
    • Inspect properties that store, handle, and use hazardous materials to ensure compliance with laws, codes, and regulations, and issue hazardous materials permits to facilities found in compliance.
    • Photograph damage and evidence related to causes of fires or explosions to document investigation findings.
    • Identify corrective actions necessary to bring properties into compliance with applicable fire codes, laws, regulations, and standards, and explain these measures to property owners or their representatives.
    • Coordinate efforts with other organizations, such as law enforcement agencies.
    • Supervise staff, training them, planning their work, and evaluating their performance.
    • Conduct fire exit drills to monitor and evaluate evacuation procedures.
    • Subpoena and interview witnesses, property owners, and building occupants to obtain information and sworn testimony.
    • Attend training classes to maintain current knowledge of fire prevention, safety, and firefighting procedures.
    • Conduct inspections and acceptance testing of newly installed fire protection systems.
    • Review blueprints and plans for new or remodeled buildings to ensure the structures meet fire safety codes.
    • Teach fire investigation techniques to other firefighter personnel.
    • Prepare and maintain reports of investigation results, and records of convicted arsonists and arson suspects.
    • Instruct children about the dangers of fire.
    • 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.
    • Testify in court cases involving fires, suspected arson, and false alarms.
    • Conduct fire code compliance follow-ups to ensure that corrective actions have been taken in cases where violations were found.
    • Issue permits for public assemblies.
    • Conduct internal investigation to determine negligence and violation of laws and regulations by fire department employees.
    • Develop and coordinate fire prevention programs, such as false alarm billing, fire inspection reporting, and hazardous materials management.
    • Teach public education programs on fire safety and prevention.
    • Inspect and test fire protection or fire detection systems to verify that such systems are installed in accordance with appropriate laws, codes, ordinances, regulations, and standards.
    • Package collected pieces of evidence in securely closed containers, such as bags, crates, or boxes, to protect them.
    • Recommend changes to fire prevention, inspection, and fire code endorsement procedures.
    • Test sites and materials to establish facts, such as burn patterns and flash points of materials, using test equipment.
    • Teach fire investigation techniques to other firefighter personnel.

    Skills

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    Knowledge

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    Career Video

    Video not available
    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 64790/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 31.15/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 480
    • Yearly Projected Openings 40

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Integrity
    • Cooperation
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Initiative
    • Concern for Others

    Tools

    • Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Air velocity and temperature monitors
    • Anemometers
    • Automobiles or cars
    • Ball peen hammer
    • Barometers
    • Battery testers
    • Bolt cutters
    • Box end wrenches
    • Bullet proof vests
    • Camera flashes or lighting
    • Camera lens
    • Camera tripods
    • Circuit tester
    • Claw hammer
    • Cold chisels
    • Digital camcorders or video cameras
    • Digital cameras
    • Digital voice recorders
    • Direction finding compasses
    • Dosing droppers
    • Electrical frequency meters
    • Emergency light unit
    • End cut pliers
    • Fingerprint equipment
    • Fire alarm systems
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Fire hoses or nozzles
    • Fire suppression hand tools
    • Fire suppression system
    • Flashlight
    • Flood light
    • Flowmeters
    • Forestry saws
    • Fuse pullers
    • GFI circuit testers
    • Gas chromatographs
    • Gas detectors
    • Gas generators
    • Hacksaw
    • Handcuffs
    • Handguns
    • Handheld thermometer
    • Hatchets
    • Hoes
    • Hydrocarbons analyzers or detectors
    • Laboratory forceps
    • Ladders
    • Laser fax machine
    • Levels
    • Linemans pliers
    • Locking pliers
    • Lux or light meter
    • Magnetic tools
    • Magnifying glass
    • Masks or accessories
    • Measuring wheels for distance
    • Mobile medical services first aid kits
    • Mobile phones
    • Multimeters
    • Notebook computers
    • Pad or keyhole saw
    • Personal computers
    • Pipe or tube cutter
    • Pipe wrenches
    • Plumb bobs
    • Pocket calculator
    • Pocket knives
    • Power drills
    • Protective coats
    • Protective hood
    • Protective pants
    • Pry bars
    • Psychrometers
    • Putty knives
    • Rakes
    • Rangefinders
    • Razor knives
    • Respiration air supplying self contained breathing apparatus or accessories
    • Respirators
    • Rulers
    • Safety glasses
    • Safety helmets
    • Screwdrivers
    • Shears
    • Shovels
    • Single gas monitors
    • Sledge hammer
    • Slip or groove joint pliers
    • Smoke detectors
    • Sound measuring apparatus or decibel meter
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Spectrophotometers
    • Still cameras
    • Sump pumps
    • Tablet computers
    • Tape measures
    • Tinners snips
    • Trowels
    • Tweezers
    • Two way radios
    • Ultraviolet UV lamps
    • Utility knives
    • Voltage or current meters
    • Water storage tanks
    • Wire cutters
    • Wire gauge
    • Wire-stripping pliers
    • Wood chisels
    • X ray radiography examination equipment

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Human resources software
    • Internet browser software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
    Need help on researching occupations and careers? Download the Guide to Researching Occupations (PDF).

    Need help on how to research education and training programs? Download the Guide to Higher Education (PDF).

    Budget Calculator

    Answer a few questions to determine your target salary. Use this target salary to help choose the right occupation for you.

    Lifestyle Calculator

    Answer a few questions to determine your target salary. Use this target salary to help choose the right occupation for you.

    Workforce Supply Tool

    Workforce Supply Tool

    The Workforce Supply Tool provides statistics for the occupations in highest demand throughout Ohio.

    You can view statewide statistics as well as more region specific information.

    Visit Site
    Powered By: