What are the fire-police?

Answer 1

In some jurisdictions, there are people referred to as "Fire-Police". The Fire-Police personnel handle tasks on fire scenes that you would normally see Police Officers doing. For example, crowd control on a fire scene or traffic direction on a scene of a fire or motor vehicle accident. In many places, the volunteer "Fire-Police" personnel have completed special training, but are not certified police officers in their state.

Also, some jurisdictions have what is commonly referred to as "Public Safety Officers", which in general is a police officer that responds to and assists on fire scenes when needed. Some smaller jurisdictions may have police officers that are also volunteer firefighters, in which case they may allow them to assist on scenes.

You could also be referring to "Fire Marshals" or "Arson Investigators". A Fire Marshal is usually held responsible for enforcing fire codes and may also be assigned to investigating suspicious fires to determine the cause of fire.

Investigating suspicious fires is also the responsibility of "Arson Investigators". Some insurance agencies may choose to hire independent Arson Investigators for investigating fires they believe may be caused for the motive of fraud.

Many law enforcement agencies have trained Arson Investigators, even if that is not the employee's primary job. For example, the police officer that just wrote a traffic citation for speeding may be investigating an arson case the next day. Some smaller jurisdictions have also trained a very small number of investigators to serve multiple purposes, whether it be working a simple break-in to working a homicide case.

Arson Investigations may also be assigned to the Fire Department with jurisdiction where the fire occurs. Many states will assist with investigations in areas that do not have these resources at their disposal.