Description
Plan, coordinate, and supervise fire management programs to protect life, property, and natural resources. Develop and implement prevention, preparedness, fuels, and suppression strategies; support emergency response, incident management, hazardous materials, search and rescue, and disaster recovery.
- • Coordinate multi-agency responses to fires, accidents, and disasters.
- • Develop fire management and pre-attack plans using risk and fire behavior analysis.
- • Assess incidents and provide situation reports and tactical recommendations via radio and digital systems.
- • Oversee deployment and operation of engines, tenders, aircraft, and specialized equipment.
- • Manage initial attack priorities and request additional resources as needed.
- • Direct rescue operations and evacuations with incident command and law enforcement.
- • Ensure crews use and maintain PPE and respiratory protection per standards.
- • Train and mentor personnel in firefighting, EMS, hazardous materials, and search and rescue.
- • Plan and conduct prescribed burns and fuels reduction projects with smoke management compliance.
- • Evaluate structure and wildland fire potential based on construction, fuels, topography, and weather.
- • Authorize ventilation, forcible entry, and other tactics to support life safety and fire control.
- • Establish water supply strategies and supervise pump operations and hose evolutions.
- • Inspect post-incident scenes for hazards, overhaul needs, and investigation support.
- • Perform and document fire hazard and code compliance inspections for buildings and wildlands.
- • Lead public education and outreach programs on fire prevention and defensible space.
- • Maintain continuous communications with dispatch and emergency operations centers.
- • Coordinate hazardous materials containment and decontamination with specialized teams.
- • Develop and implement safety plans; conduct drills and readiness exercises.
- • Maintain readiness of stations, apparatus, tools, and supplies; manage maintenance schedules.
- • Prepare incident reports, after-action reviews, and resource and cost documentation.
- • Use GIS, mapping, and navigation tools to plan tactics and track resources.
- • Monitor firelines and burned areas to detect and mitigate hot spots and rekindle risk.
- • Collaborate with investigators on cause and origin and with police on arson cases.
- • Participate in and instruct at interagency training, courses, and conferences.
- • Oversee physical fitness programs and medical qualifications for operational staff.
- • Implement salvage and property conservation strategies during and after incidents.
- • Plan and supervise search and rescue operations and survivor accountability.
- • Manage mutual aid agreements and interagency coordination under the ICS framework.
- • Analyze weather, fuel moisture, and fire behavior to adjust tactics and staffing levels.
- • Ensure compliance with NFPA, OSHA, and agency policies and documentation standards.
- • Develop budgets, track expenditures, and procure equipment for fire programs.
- • Lead evacuation planning and community wildfire protection plan development.
- • Support EMS delivery and quality assurance for first responder services.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
