Fire Investigator Opportunities

Fire Investigators are highly trained in fire origin and cause, investigative techniques, criminal law, and crime scene processing. Investigators must meet all of the statutory requirements to be certified as a law enforcement officer within the State of Florida, and upon hire, complete advanced training classes in Origin and Cause Investigations, Fire Chemistry, Building Construction, Fire-Suppression Systems, Latent Investigations, Post-Blast Investigations, Fire Investigations and Legal Issues for Fire Investigators, as well as continuing education coursework.

Candidates for the position of Fire Investigator should have an understanding of search and seizure, general investigative techniques, evidence collection and preservation and Chapters 633 and 806, Florida Statutes. Excellent resources for fire specific investigations may be found in Kirk’s Fire Investigations textbook, O’Hara’s Fundamentals of Criminal Investigations, and NFPA 921.

In order to qualify for a Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations Detective position, you must meet the following qualifications:

• Citizen of the United States
• Possess an active State of Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Law Enforcement certification
  
• Three years of law enforcement experience (corrections experience does not apply)
  
• Good moral character as determined by a thorough background examination
  
• Uncorrected vision not worse than 20/200 (Snellen) and corrected 20/20 in one eye and not worse than 20/40 in the other eye (all candidates must pass a color vision test)
  
• Normal estimated auditory acuity as documented on FDLE Form 75A
  
• Complete a Physical Abilities test to measure the ability to complete basic law enforcement tasks and be in excellent physical condition with no defects that would interfere in fire scene examination, reconstruction and field investigations.
  

An applicant will be disqualified if the candidate has:

• Been convicted of a felony
  
• Been convicted of certain misdemeanors involving moral turpitude
  
• Defaulted on a U.S. Government secured student loan
  
• Failed to register for Selective Service, if applicable
  
• Separated for any law enforcement agency for moral character offenses
  
• Illegally used, sold, or transferred any prescribed medications or controlled substance in violation of Chapter 893, F.S.
  
• Omitted, misrepresented, or falsely stated any information, in writing or orally, to the Bureau during the application process
  
  

An applicant may be waived for preferred candidates if the applicant has:

• Been terminated, or resigned in lieu of termination, due to job performance deficiencies
  
• Received more than 5 moving violation citations during driving history
  
• Poor credit history