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What They Do
About This Career
Inspects buildings to detect fire hazards and enforce local ordinances and state laws, or investigates and gathers facts to determine cause of fires and explosions.
This career is part of the Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security cluster Emergency and Fire Management Services pathway.
A person in this career:
- Prepares and maintains reports of investigation results, and records of convicted arsonists and arson suspects.
- Testifies in court cases involving fires, suspected arson, and false alarms.
- Packages collected pieces of evidence in securely closed containers, such as bags, crates, or boxes, to protect them.
- Conducts inspections and acceptance testing of newly installed fire protection systems.
- Analyzes evidence and other information to determine probable cause of fire or explosion.
- Photographs damage and evidence related to causes of fires or explosions to document investigation findings.
- Examines fire sites and collects evidence such as glass, metal fragments, charred wood, and accelerant residue for use in determining the cause of a fire.
- Inspects 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.
- Instructs children about the dangers of fire.
- Conducts fire code compliance follow-ups to ensure that corrective actions have been taken in cases where violations were found.
Working Conditions and Physical Demands
People who do this job report that:
- You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
- Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
- Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
- Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
Working in this career involves (physical activities):
- Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
- Seeing clearly at a distance
- Seeing clearly up close
- Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
- Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
Work Hours and Travel
- Irregular hours
- Overtime work
- Weekend work
Specialty and Similar Careers
Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:
- Fire Safety Specialist
- Arson Investigator — Examines intentionally set fires in order to determine why they were set; for example some are set purposely in order to recover money from an insurance claim or cover up another crime.
- Fire Prevention Inspector
- Fire Prevention Specialist
- Fire Protection Specialist
- Fire Inspector
- Fire Safety Inspector
- Fire Code Inspector
- Fire Official
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts national surveys of wage data by occupation in every state and in all industry divisions. These surveys are conducted through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.
The statistics collected for one year are published the next fall. For example, 2013 wage information was published in the fall of 2014.
There are over 800 occupations in the surveys, and these occupations cover the entire U.S. labor market. The surveys ask for reports in a scale of ranges for both hourly wages and annual wages.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics for a broad category, be aware that the salary data for a specific career may differ.
For more details about how wage information is collected and calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm.
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts a national survey of over 400,000
employers in every state and in all industry divisions. This survey is conducted
through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Every other year the
department publishes outlook information based on these surveys.
Each outlook period covers 10 years. For example, in 2003 the outlook information
was published for 2004-2014. Employers are asked to report the number of employees
in about 770 different occupations that cover the entire U.S. labor market.
From this information, staffing patterns for different industries are established.
Industry growth is projected into the future based on past trends and current economic
conditions. Industry staffing patterns are then applied to the industry projections
to obtain occupational projections.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties
of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational
category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics
for a broad category, be aware that the employment data for a specific field may
differ.
For more details about how employment information is collected and calculated by
the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
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