Interesting, thanks for not taking offence and sharing. My point is prior to training that a FF would be a better candidate for the job than the majority of other people. Of course training is essential.
By the same logic, if Raul Moat was still alive, would he make a better soldier than me or you? He fired a gun, so he clearly has a head start therefore is a better candidate, yes?
There are many other qualities that go towards any role, the best candidate will usually have a broad range of qualities. For an inspector you need to be able to interpret technical data, and also put it in clear english when explaining it to a punter, you need to be able to keep potentially hostile situations under control, you need to be authorititive when required, you need to be able to apply common-sense, you need to be able to create clear written records of occurrences/actions. You can prove all of these qualities with no mention of fire at all, and if someone could prove to me that they can do all these things, then I think the potential there would far outweigh a little general fire safety knowledge.
