IAAI-ECT study guide
IAAI-ECT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The IAAI-ECT® is a credential from the International Association of Arson Investigators for personnel who are tasked with evidence collection related to fire scene investigation. It sits alongside the association's other credentials, but its focus is narrower: not the full origin-and-cause analysis expected of a fire investigator, but the disciplined recognition, documentation, packaging, and chain-of-custody handling of physical evidence recovered at a fire scene. That makes it relevant to fire officers, fire marshals, insurance adjusters, and other scene personnel who support an investigation rather than lead it. The designation is based in job performance requirements drawn from three standards: NFPA 1021, NFPA 1033, and NFPA 1037. Topics on this exam: NFPA 1021 job performance requirements, NFPA 1033 job performance requirements, and NFPA 1037 job performance requirements. The IAAI-ECT study guide has 3 sections and about 1,015 words.
01NFPA 1021 Job Performance Requirements: Fire Officer Qualifications
NFPA 1021 is the Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications. The exam uses its job performance requirements (JPRs) to test whether you can match a fire officer's assigned duties to the correct level of responsibility and to the required knowledge and skills. This is a qualification test, not a fireground tactics test. A JPR has three parts: the performance statement (what the officer shall do, with conditions and outcomes), requisite knowledge, and requisite skills.
338 words, about 2 min02NFPA 1033 Job Performance Requirements: Fire Investigator
NFPA 1033 is the Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigator. The exam tests the investigator's JPRs: applying the scientific method, examining the scene, determining origin and cause, handling evidence, interviewing, documenting, and testifying. The standard defines what a competent investigator must know and be able to do; it does not teach fire science. The general JPRs require the investigator to use the scientific method: identify the problem, define it, collect data, analyze data, develop hypotheses, test them against the data, and select the hypothesis that survives testing.
335 words, about 2 min03NFPA 1037 Job Performance Requirements: Fire Marshal
NFPA 1037 is the Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Marshal. The exam tests the fire marshal's ability to manage fire prevention and code enforcement functions: administration, inspection, plan review, permits, public education, investigation coordination, personnel, and records. Fire marshal work is regulatory and supervisory; it differs from company-level fire officer work. Fire marshal JPRs cover program administration (budget, staffing, statistics, records), code enforcement, inspection, plan review, public education, investigation, and emergency response.
342 words, about 2 min