Description
Operate and navigate fireboats to suppress fires and respond to maritime emergencies, protecting life, property, and the environment in ports and waterways. Duties include vessel operations, marine firefighting, EMS, hazardous materials and spill response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.
- • Rescue persons from vessels, marinas, and waterways.
- • Don marine firefighting PPE and SCBA.
- • Size up marine incidents and report conditions via VHF marine radio.
- • Navigate to incidents using charts, tides, currents, and port layouts.
- • Respond to fire alarms, maydays, collisions, groundings, and waterfront accidents.
- • Create access and ventilation on vessels or piers using appropriate tools.
- • Pilot and operate fireboats, including engines, jets, pumps, and monitors.
- • Overhaul and monitor scenes after knockdown to prevent rekindle or pollution.
- • Use ladders or boarding devices to access vessels and elevated docks.
- • Deploy handlines, deck guns, and foam; select nozzles and agents by fire type.
- • Maintain contact with dispatch, Coast Guard, and allied agencies; request resources.
- • Work as part of a marine firefighting team and coordinate with land units.
- • Patrol shorelines and waterways to locate hotspots, debris, and oil sheen.
- • Coordinate with police, Coast Guard, and port authority on security and traffic control.
- • Participate in drills and demonstrations of marine firefighting and water rescue.
- • Maintain skills in seamanship, navigation, pump operations, and maritime ICS.
- • Complete incident, casualty, and pollution reports and vessel logs.
- • Maintain fitness for strenuous marine operations and survival swimming.
- • Protect property and the environment by dewatering, ventilating, and covering equipment.
- • Educate the public on marina fire prevention and boating safety.
- • Perform salvage, including shoring, plugging, towing assistance, and smoke removal.
- • Navigate with charts, GPS, AIS, radar, and compass in low visibility and adverse weather.
- • Clean and maintain the fireboat, station, PPE, tools, and onboard kits.
- • Inspect marinas, waterfront facilities, and vessels for fire hazards and code compliance.
- • Contain marine hazmat and oil spills using booms, absorbents, and decontamination.
- • Extinguish fires on boats, docks, and waterfront structures with monitors and foam.
- • Provide first aid, CPR, and maritime EMS; transfer patients to shore or medevac.
- • Operate and monitor fire pumps, valves, and water supply from hydrants, draft, or relay.
- • Search for persons overboard and missing vessels using visual scans, sonar, and thermal imaging.
- • Train new crew members in boat handling, marine firefighting, and safety procedures.
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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
