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Job outlook for fire investigators in the United States
Are fire investigator jobs in demand?
Fire investigator job and salary trends over time
Fire investigator jobs over time
Fire investigator job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 559 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 537 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 525 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 480 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 457 | 0.00% |
Average fire investigator salary over time
Fire investigator salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $64,364 | $30.94 | +4.8% |
| 2025 | $61,425 | $29.53 | --1.4% |
| 2024 | $62,272 | $29.94 | +5.5% |
| 2023 | $59,034 | $28.38 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | $58,217 | $27.99 | +3.0% |
Fire investigator jobs by state
Most common states for fire investigators
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 105 | 15% |
| 2 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 138 | 13% |
| 3 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 518 | 12% |
| 4 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 222 | 12% |
| 5 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 206 | 12% |
| 6 | Alaska | 739,795 | 86 | 12% |
| 7 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 71 | 12% |
| 8 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 596 | 10% |
| 9 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 316 | 10% |
| 10 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 364 | 9% |
| 11 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 185 | 9% |
| 12 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 943 | 8% |
| 13 | Delaware | 961,939 | 76 | 8% |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 912 | 7% |
| 15 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 533 | 7% |
| 16 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 409 | 7% |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 399 | 7% |
| 18 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 365 | 7% |
| 19 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 494 | 6% |
| 20 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 406 | 6% |
Most common cities for fire investigators
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addison | 1 | 3% | $53,226 |
| 2 | Englewood | 1 | 3% | $53,231 |
| 3 | Moline | 1 | 2% | $50,939 |
| 4 | Naperville | 1 | 1% | $53,075 |
| 5 | Springfield | 1 | 1% | $50,830 |
| 6 | Baltimore | 1 | 0% | $62,192 |
| 7 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $53,490 |
| 8 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $53,091 |
| 9 | Orlando | 1 | 0% | $47,727 |
| 10 | Tampa | 1 | 0% | $47,993 |
Fire Investigator job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of fire investigator experts
Bakersfield College
University of Maryland
International Crime Scene Investigators Association
NALI - National Association of Legal Investigators
What's a good job out of college for Fire Investigators?
Charles G. Truvillion Sr.: Serving as a firefighter is a gratifying career and career path. Firefighters play a vital role in society. They save lives, save property, work as a team, keep physically fit; they have job security, good salaries, and benefits.
The best reason for being a firefighter is saving lives because there's nothing more rewarding than helping people, especially when it comes to protecting their lives. Firefighters come to your rescue when the fire turns from a friend to an enemy. As a firefighter, you work as a team. To be a successful firefighter, being a good team player is part and parcel of the job. Firefighting gives you the skills to learn to work with other people, communicate with other people, and be a part of a community. The fire service is always in demand, which means that layoffs in the fire service are minimal. Not only does it give you job security throughout your working years, but it also provides a competitive pension plan at young retirement age. Another incentive is the salary and benefits—the salary range from $39,000 to $202,000, with an average salary of $89,000.
Lastly, continuing education and work shifts are also rewarding for firefighters. Education isn't as demanding as other career paths. However, going to college and studying in this area will help get you into the profession and promote through the ranks. There are numerous required fire service training courses offered annually that firefighters attend on their days off. Firefighters' work shifts allow them to work, train, and to spend quality time with their families.
A firefighter career is both demanding and rewarding. The work is hard and often dangerous, but it's tremendously satisfying to save lives and help others in need. The job pays you in a way that no paycheck ever could. You get to contribute to society. Every individual with a moral compass wants to contribute and be a part of a solution — not the problem. When you go to bed at night, you know that you did something good for your community that day. And you did not do it for any personal reason.
What technical skills for a Fire Investigator stand out to employers?
Charles G. Truvillion Sr.: Technical skills that stand out in the fire service are Structural firefighting and Wildland firefighting. Specialized training includes aircraft firefighting, shipboard firefighting, aerial firefighting, maritime firefighting, and proximity firefighting.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Fire Investigators in the next 3-5 years?
Charles G. Truvillion Sr.: Innovative technology has always been an essential part of firefighting. However, firefighting is a highly values tradition, and sometimes, departments can be hesitant to adopt new firefighter technology. In some ways, this resistance is understandable. Fire technology can be expensive and complicated, and implementing new firefighter tools may require adjustments to training and operating procedures. Technology in the fire service covers far more than computers and software. Over the next 3-5 years, there will be more technology in Personal Protective Equipment, fire pumps, radio communication systems, and computerized simulations of training programs focused on preventing firefighter line of duty deaths. Firefighting technology advances all work together to improve firefighter safety and effectiveness.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Fire Investigator job market given the pandemic?
Gary LaFree: In terms of the criminology market, we are facing not only the pandemic but also the Black Lives Matter movement. These two events probably have their own impact, but they are difficult to separate. In terms of college education, the pandemic has not been all bad for universities-our criminology enrollments are strong right now. On the other hand, the job market is more uncertain because of the pandemic. The criminology market is also somewhat uncertain because of major questioning about the proper role of the police.
What Fire Investigator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Gary LaFree: In criminology, having statistical skills is very useful for either an academic career or a research career. Researchers in police departments are getting increasingly sophisticated. Many criminology positions, both in academia and in the private sector, also depend on statistical training.
What general advice would you give to a Fire Investigator?
Gary LaFree: Think about obtaining as much education and training as you can. Be patient. The fundamentals of the economy are relatively strong. Outlet should be much better when we get through the current crisis.
Daryl Clemens
President & Chairman of the BoardInternational Crime Scene Investigators Association
What type of skills will young Fire Investigators need?
Daryl Clemens: Primary skills for Crime Scene Investigation are: Photography, Fingerprint Processing, and the ability to sketch and measure a scene - think a floorplan or landscape diagram, not an artistic sketch. DNA is important, but DNA collection is dead simple.
John Lajoie CLI
National Director, President of Lajoie Investigations, Inc, of MANALI - National Association of Legal Investigators
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Fire Investigator job market given the pandemic?
John Lajoie CLI: I can speak to the investigation industry much more effectively than others, but I want to emphasize the "work from the home trend." Pre-pandemic, work from home was picking up but not busting out as most employers were concerned about losing some control over employees, less social and workplace interaction, and having the ability to work closely with the employee to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Oversight is diminished for the employer, but additional freedom for the employee is comfortable, so long as they are disciplined and organized to get the work done. For the employee, there is something about flexibility and additional freedom to control when and how the work gets completed, to deal with non-work appointments and family commitments, and simply rolling out of bed at 8:45 AM to be at the computer, phone, Zoom video call, or email 10 minutes later, ready to go to work and get the job done.
There is just something about being home for the kids when they get home from school or other activities for parents. However, the social aspect of showing up at the workplace suffers as some employees are locked up in their houses or apartment with no live social interaction. In-person social skills become rusty. So there are trade-offs, for sure. Post pandemic, employers find out who can and can't work productively from home - who is disciplined to work well from home and who is not. And the savings to both the employee and employer are significant.
Additionally, the employee (and other employees) is presumed to be safer at home than at work, which is probably accurate. The liability of a super-spreader event within a workplace is minimized and keeps insurance costs and other costs down...and the employer out of court, should things go south. The employer is learning that perhaps employees can permanently work from home, saving on rent, commercial real estate, taxes and maintenance, and other related costs.
The cost savings is very significant for the employer and the employee. There are other considerations, but I could write what seems like forever on this, so I will keep it brief. The investigation is a bit different for legal investigators because we on the road conducting studies in the area incidents occur, knocking on doors, interviewing witnesses, interacting with law enforcement, evaluating scenes, collecting records, etc...... so it's much harder to work from home for the average private legal investigator. It's almost impossible. But a couple of days a week doing reports from home is a reality. For all employers, we are treading on new ground controlled by an outside source - a virus. Regardless of how an employer and employee move forward, there will always be a trend of "uncertainty" that lingers until we have Covid beat....and when that happens is anyone's guess.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Fire Investigators in the next 3-5 years?
John Lajoie CLI: Remote computer applications; cybersecurity; cell phone applications that do just about anything work-related and track locations; and advances in hardware and wireless applications. Any technology that will help employers and employees become faster and better communicating and selling will be significant. The biggest will be in the social media arena, as working from home creates a void for in-person social interaction. So the next best thing to many is electronic social media.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fire Investigators?
John Lajoie CLI: Regardless of bleak employment numbers during this horrific pandemic, legal investigators and private detectives' outlook remains hopeful and optimistic for growth through 2030. The onset of COVID 19 and accompanying state and federal guidelines have produced new protocols for all employers, including detective agencies, to operate safely and effectively. Civil pursuits, accidents, incidents, fraud, and criminal enterprise will continue; therefore, the need for legal investigation services will remain in demand.
Those investigators who have positioned their agency to adhere to recommended guidelines and safety protocols, and adapt to the changing technologies, will survive and likely thrive. Those that don't, will have a challenging experience and may not last. For employers, now is time to review business plans and operational and administrative policies, reinvent the business, look for unique training arenas, establish new revenue streams, and markets. Graduates entering the workforce today will experience a new way of searching for, interviewing, and landing a new job. Be prepared. And make sure you do your research on the company you are targeting for a job.