any inspector who enforces fire safety legislation. Role Background Most fire safety inspectors are uniformed officers and are professional firefighters who have transferred from front line service into the Fire Safety Department of the Fire & Rescue Service in which they work. Most Inspectors are of Watch Commander / Watch Manager rank or above. Some Fire & Rescue Services employ inspectors who have not had firefighting experience, but instead have experience in Fire Safety related fields in employment outside of the Fire Service. For example, in the Western Australian fire authorities' Built Environment Branch (AKA Fire Safety Branch), none of their Fire Safety Officers have transferred from that agency's operational fire fighter ranks. They are career specialist operatives with extensive fire technology skills and qualifications. Confusion over the role with fire investigators Fire safety inspectors undertake criminal investigations. They do not however investigate how a fire may have started. Whilst the cause of a fire may be pivotal to any criminal proceedings taken by Inspectors the actual job of establishing the cause of the fire is often very technical and requires the expert knowledge of a fire investigator. A fire investigator however has no powers to enforce legislation, so their role is to provide evidence for Fire Inspectors to take forward. References Law enforcement occupations in the United Kingdom Fire and rescue in the United Kingdom