Most firefighters are not peace officers. Rank-and-file firefighters have no arrest authority, do not carry firearms on duty, and cannot enforce criminal statutes. The exceptions are specific: fire marshals, arson investigators, and firefighters working in dual-role public safety departments where members are cross-trained in both firefighting and law enforcement. In each of those roles, peace officer powers come from separate certification and are usually limited to fire-related crimes.
Fire Marshals and Arson Investigators
The most common route to peace officer status within the fire service runs through a fire marshal’s or arson investigator’s role. State fire marshal’s offices generally hold enforcement authority that goes well beyond what a regular firefighter carries.1United States Fire Administration. Introduction to Code Administration and Enforcement A fire marshal can investigate the origin and cause of fires, enforce state fire codes, and in most jurisdictions arrest people for arson and related offenses. Arson investigators working under a fire marshal often hold the same powers.
Scope is the key qualifier. A fire marshal with peace officer status can arrest someone for setting a fire, carry a firearm, execute search warrants at fire scenes, and take custody of physical evidence. What the same marshal generally cannot do is pull a driver over for speeding or investigate a robbery. The authority is tied to fire-related enforcement: arson, fire code violations, explosive incidents, and hazardous materials crimes. It is a narrow lane of law enforcement rather than the broad authority a police officer carries.
Dual-Role Public Safety Departments
A smaller category of firefighters are peace officers in the fullest sense. Some municipalities merge police and fire functions into a single “public safety officer” role. Members are cross-trained through both a police academy and a fire academy, and often earn EMT certification on top of that. They rotate between law enforcement and firefighting duties during their shifts and carry peace officer authority at all times.
Several smaller cities around the country use this model. A public safety officer in one of these departments might respond to a structure fire in the morning and conduct a traffic stop that afternoon. The approach is attractive to communities trying to consolidate two departments into one, but it demands significantly more training per officer than either role would require on its own. Firefighters in these departments carry firearms, make arrests, and enforce criminal law alongside their fire suppression duties. The model is the exception rather than the rule.
How Fire Personnel Earn Peace Officer Status
Peace officer powers are not handed out with a firefighter’s badge. Fire personnel who need arrest authority typically have to complete certification through their state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) commission or an equivalent agency. Requirements vary by state but follow a recognizable pattern.
An arson investigator seeking peace officer certification usually must already be a certified firefighter, carry several months of field experience in fire investigation, and complete specialized coursework in arson investigation techniques. Most states also require firearms qualification equivalent to the standards set for police officers, because weapons come with the territory once arrest authority is in play. The coursework covers criminal procedure, evidence handling, constitutional rights during searches, and use-of-force principles.
This is a sharp departure from standard firefighter training. A firefighter’s academy focuses on fire suppression tactics, emergency medical care, hazardous materials response, and rescue operations. Nothing in that curriculum addresses criminal law, warrants, or firearms. A fire investigator who wants peace officer status essentially completes a second professional track layered on top of their firefighting credentials.
Federal Arson Investigators Are a Separate Category
Readers sometimes conflate state fire marshals with federal fire investigators. They are not the same. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is the primary federal agency responsible for arson investigation, and ATF’s Certified Fire Investigators work alongside local fire departments on complex arson cases, arson-for-profit schemes, and fires involving explosives.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Arson ATF agents are federal law enforcement officers with full arrest authority.
Federal law defines a federal law enforcement officer as an officer, agent, or employee of the United States authorized to detect, investigate, or prosecute violations of federal criminal law.3Legal Information Institute. Definition: Federal Law Enforcement Officer From 18 USC 115(c)(1) ATF fire investigators fall squarely within that definition. State and local fire marshals do not, because their authority comes from state law rather than federal authorization.
Why the Status Matters in Practice
Whether a firefighter holds peace officer status shapes daily operations, legal liability, and career structure.
- Arrest authority. A firefighter without peace officer status who detains someone at a fire scene risks legal challenge. A fire marshal with peace officer certification has clear statutory authority to make arrests for fire-related crimes.
- Firearms. Only fire personnel with peace officer status are authorized to carry weapons on duty. Regular firefighters are not, and their agencies typically prohibit it.
- Evidence handling. Fire investigators with peace officer powers can secure crime scenes, execute search warrants, and maintain chain of custody in ways that hold up in criminal proceedings. A regular firefighter who finds evidence of arson has to hand the scene over to law enforcement or a certified investigator.
- Legal standards. Peace officers answer to a distinct body of law on use of force, search and seizure, and civil rights. Fire personnel with peace officer status are held to those same standards during enforcement activity.
Firefighters Without Peace Officer Status Are Still Legally Protected
Not being a peace officer does not leave a firefighter unprotected. Federal law makes it a crime to kill or attempt to kill any officer or employee of the United States while they are performing official duties, which reaches federal firefighters.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 1114 – Protection of Officers and Employees of the United States Many states have enacted enhanced-penalty statutes that raise charges when someone assaults or kills a firefighter or emergency medical provider on duty.
Federal law also treats firefighters and law enforcement officers as parallel categories for death and disability benefits. Under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program, survivors of firefighters killed in the line of duty receive death benefits, and firefighters catastrophically injured on the job qualify for disability benefits on the same terms as police officers.5Bureau of Justice Assistance. Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program The federal statute defining “public safety officer” lists law enforcement officers and firefighters as separate but equally covered categories.6GovInfo. 42 USC 3796 – Payment of Death Benefits
For most firefighters, the line is straightforward. They are emergency responders, not law enforcement. The peace officer designation exists for the narrow subset of fire personnel whose work crosses into criminal investigation and code enforcement, and it carries training requirements and legal obligations that match the expanded authority.