Fire inspector vs fire official

The differences between fire inspectors and fire officials can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a fire inspector and a fire official. Additionally, a fire official has an average salary of $51,694, which is higher than the $48,535 average annual salary of a fire inspector.

The top three skills for a fire inspector include fire protection, customer service and NFPA. The most important skills for a fire official are fire safety codes, , and .

Fire inspector vs fire official overview

	Fire Inspector	Fire Official
Yearly salary	$48,535	$51,694
Hourly rate	$23.33	$24.85
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	19,441	3,524
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 37%	Associate Degree, 38%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	4	4

Fire inspector vs fire official salary

Fire inspectors and fire officials have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Fire Inspector	Fire Official
Average salary	$48,535	$51,694
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $70,000	Between $36,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Anchorage, AK	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Siemens	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between fire inspector and fire official education

There are a few differences between a fire inspector and a fire official in terms of educational background:

	Fire Inspector	Fire Official
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 37%	Associate Degree, 38%
Most common major	Fire Science And Protection	Business
Most common college	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	University of Pennsylvania

Fire inspector vs fire official demographics

Here are the differences between fire inspectors' and fire officials' demographics:

	Fire Inspector	Fire Official
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0%	Male, 93.3% Female, 6.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 1.2% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8%	Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 1.0% White, 77.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%
LGBT Percentage	18%	18%

Differences between fire inspector and fire official duties and responsibilities

Fire inspector example responsibilities.

Direct and lead a hands-on approach to resolve a contagious communicable disease within the APG community daycare centers (CDC).
Achieve advance levels of Fire/EMS management certification.
Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.
Conduct annual base facility fire inspections ensuring continual code compliance with NFPA s, AFI s and other applicable standards.
Perform crash-rescue, and hazardous materials (HAZMAT) operations and assist in reducing and/or eliminating of potential fire hazards.
Administer medical aid and CPR to victims before ambulance arrives.

Fire official example responsibilities.

Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.
Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.
Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.

Fire inspector vs fire official skills

Common fire inspector skills

Fire Protection, 27%
Customer Service, 14%
NFPA, 11%
Ladders, 7%
Inspection Reports, 3%
Fire Hazards, 3%

Common fire official skills

Fire Safety Codes, 100%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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