The Tulsa Fire Department is actively involved in determining the orgin and cause of fires through fire scene investigations. The problem was the department had no recognized criteria for the selection of protective clothing used by fire investigators during fire scene investigations. The purpose of this research was to identify criteria by which the department can base the selection of protective clothing for the investigators.Action research methodology was utilized to answer the following research questions: (a) whether the nationally recognized standards for fire department operations address the issue of protective clothing for fire scene investigators, (b) what are the recommendations of authoritative references for fire scene investigation concerning protective clothing, (c) what are the fire investigators from other agencies using for protective clothing during fire scene investigations, and (d) what criteria are other organizations involved in fire investigation using to select protective clothing for fire scene investigators. The procedures included a review of the published literature addressing the research questions and the use of a survey instrument to determine the procedures and opinions of others involved in fire investigation.The results of the survey and literature review were evaluated and used to establish selection criteria. The results were the nationally recognized standards do apply to the selection of protective clothing for fire investigators by requiring an assessment of the risks of a fire scene and then the use of appropriate protective clothing. Most of the authoritative references for fire investigators avoided making specific recommendations about the design characteristics of protective clothing for fire investigators, but they did reference the need to follow the requirements of applicable standards. The survey established the majority of fire investigators from other agencies are not basing the selection of their protective clothing on applicable standards, but do have recommendations concerning criteria for the selection of protective clothing for fire investigators.The recommendations resulting from this research included: (a) adhering to the requirements of the applicable nationally recognized standards, (b) supplying fire investigators with a variety of protective clothing to provide the required levels of protection, (c) using the identified criteria from other agencies to determine the selection of protective clothing, and (d) continued research into the availability of protective clothing meeting the identified criteria.