Fire Science, Associate of Science Degree

Cost: $4,377
Length: 68 weeks
Working 6 months later: Not reported

Program names and program descriptions appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Occupation titles are translated where O*NET publishes a Spanish name. Everything else on this page is translated.

What happened to people who took this

People enrolled: 123

Finished the program: 100%Based on 113 peopleTypical California program: 85% of 1,951 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Working 6 months later: Not reported
Earnings in one quarter after: Not reported

The job this trains for

This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.

Where California publishes a separate figure for North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties), it appears beneath the statewide one. Statewide stays the headline: people who train here do not necessarily work here.

Fire Inspectors and Investigators

Job ads may call this: Fire Official · Fire Inspector · Fire Investigator · Arson Investigator

Some of what people in this job do. The Department rates how important each one is, and they appear in that order.

Prepare and maintain reports of investigation results, and records of convicted arsonists and arson suspects.
Testify in court cases involving fires, suspected arson, and false alarms.
Package collected pieces of evidence in securely closed containers, such as bags, crates, or boxes, to protect them.
Conduct inspections and acceptance testing of newly installed fire protection systems.

Show 4 more things this job involves

Analyze evidence and other information to determine probable cause of fire or explosion.
Subpoena and interview witnesses, property owners, and building occupants to obtain information and sworn testimony.
Photograph damage and evidence related to causes of fires or explosions to document investigation findings.
Examine fire sites and collect evidence such as glass, metal fragments, charred wood, and accelerant residue for use in determining the cause of a fire.

Typical pay in California: $101,743per year
Projected openings: 1,410
Projected change: +7.7%
Usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award

California publishes no separate figure for this job in North Coast Region. The statewide figures above are the only ones there are.

Getting in

Experience needed first: 5 years or more in a related job
Training after you are hired: 1 to 12 months

Most people hired for this job have already spent 5 years or more in a related one. Finishing this program may not be enough on its own. Ask the provider who hires their graduates, and what those people did before.

These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.

Program details

This is a hybrid or blended program providing both in-person and online instruction.

A program focusing on the application of fire science and technology to problems of reducing fire risk, limiting loss, supervising substance removal, conducting safety inspections and investigations, and advising on matters of safety procedures and fire p.

Provider's website →

Someone else may be able to pay for this

This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-09-18). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.

Ask before you enroll, not after

The order the rules set out starts at the center rather than at the school. Before a center can find somebody eligible for training services it has to gather enough to decide, at a minimum through an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning. Referring a person to the provider they have chosen and setting up the account both come after that, and both are the center's to do — the account is a payment agreement with the training provider, and it is the provider that is paid through it. So the call belongs before enrolling and before paying. Anyone who has already done either should still ask, and ask what it means for them.

The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California

CareerPoint MendocinoComprehensive center
Phone: 707-708-3828
2550 N. State StreetSuite 3Ukiah, CA 95482about 5.8 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm, closed 12noon - 1pm
Has a veterans' representative

At a comprehensive center all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.

Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List

How this gets paid for, and what to ask →

Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.

The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.

How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you →