Who is Best Qualified?

Who is Best Qualified within the fire service to conduct internal administrative investigation alleging potential employee misconduct?

When fire departments have to deal with an internal administrative investigation, everyone suddenly has an opinion about who should run it. The truth is, these things can get messy fast. Firehouses are tight communities, almost like extended families, and the way an investigation is handled can either keep things stable or make the whole situation worse. That’s why the person leading the investigation needs to actually know what they’re doing, not just hold a certain rank or happen to be available that day.

The most qualified group inside the fire service is the one that already has real investigative experience — the Fire Marshal’s Office. People don’t always think about it, but the FMO is basically the investigative arm of the department. The folks working there are used to interviewing witnesses, evaluating evidence, writing legal-grade reports, and coordinating with police. Our office in particular comes from law enforcement background, and our fire personnel that were assigned have been trained alongside law enforcement officers. That kind of background matters a lot more than rank alone.

Police officers spend a good chunk of their careers learning how to question people, collect statements, write reports that hold up, and navigate legal rules like Garrity and Weingarten. Most firefighters, even great ones, just don’t get that kind of training. And honestly, most company officers have never conducted a formal administrative interview in their life. It’s not a knock on them — it’s just not part of their job. So when the department needs an internal investigation done right, it makes sense to let the FMO handle it instead of handing it to someone who’s going to be learning as they go.

Another issue is bias, even unintentional. Fire crews live together, cook together, go through the rough calls together. That closeness is a strength on the fireground, but it works against fairness when someone on the shift gets accused of something. It’s almost impossible to avoid the “who likes who” dynamic inside a station. The Fire Marshal’s Office sits outside that circle. They aren’t part of the daily bunkroom politics, and that separation makes it easier for everyone to trust that the case is being handled straight. As an example, the assigned crew that are currently in our office have served at the department for 20 years or more, living with the same employees they will now have to investigate.  This is an automatic question of bias methods used during investigations.  Currently, there are two police officers with no historical ties that can remain unbiased in all investigations. 

Knowing department policy is part of it too. Administrative investigations requires more than just figuring out what happened. You have to understand how the fire department’s own rules work, how the city’s process works, and how discipline is supposed to be applied. People in the FMO already deal with codes, ordinances, and legal procedures all the time. That puts them in a better position to navigate the documentation and review process without missing something important.

One thing people overlook is documentation. An administrative case file has to hold up under HR, legal review, civil service hearings, sometimes even court. The FMO is used to working at that level. Their reports read like actual cases, not like a quick entry in a station log or an incident narrative written at the end of a long shift. That’s a huge difference.

When you put all these pieces together, the answer becomes pretty simple: the Fire Marshal’s Office Investigation Unit is the most qualified and best positioned group within the fire department to handle administrative investigations. They already have the investigative skill set, they understand the legal processes, and they bring an outside perspective that keeps everything fair. Most importantly, they protect both the employee and the department by making sure the investigation is done correctly from start to finish.

When fire departments have to deal with an internal administrative investigation, everyone suddenly has an opinion about who should run it. The truth is, these things can get messy fast. Firehouses are tight communities, almost like extended families, and the way an investigation is handled can either keep things stable or make the whole situation worse. That’s why the person leading the investigation needs to actually know what they’re doing, not just hold a certain rank or happen to be available that day.

The most qualified group inside the fire service is the one that already has real investigative experience — the Fire Marshal’s Office. People don’t always think about it, but the FMO is basically the investigative arm of the department. The folks working there are used to interviewing witnesses, evaluating evidence, writing legal-grade reports, and coordinating with police. Our office in particular comes from law enforcement background, and our fire personnel that were assigned have been trained alongside law enforcement officers. That kind of background matters a lot more than rank alone.

Police officers spend a good chunk of their careers learning how to question people, collect statements, write reports that hold up, and navigate legal rules like Garrity and Weingarten. Most firefighters, even great ones, just don’t get that kind of training. And honestly, most company officers have never conducted a formal administrative interview in their life. It’s not a knock on them — it’s just not part of their job. So when the department needs an internal investigation done right, it makes sense to let the FMO handle it instead of handing it to someone who’s going to be learning as they go.

Another issue is bias, even unintentional. Fire crews live together, cook together, go through the rough calls together. That closeness is a strength on the fireground, but it works against fairness when someone on the shift gets accused of something. It’s almost impossible to avoid the “who likes who” dynamic inside a station. The Fire Marshal’s Office sits outside that circle. They aren’t part of the daily bunkroom politics, and that separation makes it easier for everyone to trust that the case is being handled straight. As an example, the assigned crew that are currently in our office have served at the department for 20 years or more, living with the same employees they will now have to investigate.  This is an automatic question of bias methods used during investigations.  Currently, there are two police officers with no historical ties that can remain unbiased in all investigations. 

Knowing department policy is part of it too. Administrative investigations requires more than just figuring out what happened. You have to understand how the fire department’s own rules work, how the city’s process works, and how discipline is supposed to be applied. People in the FMO already deal with codes, ordinances, and legal procedures all the time. That puts them in a better position to navigate the documentation and review process without missing something important.

One thing people overlook is documentation. An administrative case file has to hold up under HR, legal review, civil service hearings, sometimes even court. The FMO is used to working at that level. Their reports read like actual cases, not like a quick entry in a station log or an incident narrative written at the end of a long shift. That’s a huge difference.

When you put all these pieces together, the answer becomes pretty simple: the Fire Marshal’s Office Investigation Unit is the most qualified and best positioned group within the fire department to handle administrative investigations. They already have the investigative skill set, they understand the legal processes, and they bring an outside perspective that keeps everything fair. Most importantly, they protect both the employee and the department by making sure the investigation is done correctly from start to finish.