What is your process for determining the origin of a fire?
The interviewer asks this question to see how you conduct fire investigations so they can determine if you have the skills they are looking for in a Fire Investigator. They want to hear that you have the education needed to conduct fire investigations and understand your process when conducting an investigation.
Focus on describing how you use scientific methods to investigate a fire. Explain how you produce a hypothesis based on data analysis to explain how the fire started, looking at fire behavior, the nature of fire patterns, fire spread, the ignition sequence, and the identification of the origin.
You want to avoid not having a response to this question. If you cannot describe the steps you take when investigating fires, the interviewer will question your ability as a Fire Investigator.
"I always follow the same process to determine the origin of a fire. It was how I was taught, and it works every time. I apply the scientific method to determine the fire's origin. Based on the data analysis, I form a hypothesis, test it, and form a conclusion about the cause and origin of the fire or explosion."
