Description
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in firefighting and fire prevention and control.
- • Assign firefighters to jobs at strategic locations to facilitate rescue of persons and maximize application of extinguishing agents.
- • Provide emergency medical services as required, and perform light to heavy rescue functions at emergencies.
- • Assess nature and extent of fire, condition of building, danger to adjacent buildings, and water supply status to determine crew or company requirements.
- • Communicate fire details to superiors, subordinates, or interagency dispatch centers, using two-way radios.
- • Serve as a working leader of an engine, hand, helicopter, or prescribed fire crew of three or more firefighters.
- • Instruct and drill fire department personnel in assigned duties, including firefighting, medical care, hazardous materials response, fire prevention, and related subjects.
- • Maintain fire suppression equipment in good condition, checking equipment periodically to ensure that it is ready for use.
- • Evaluate the performance of assigned firefighting personnel.
- • Direct the training of firefighters, assigning of instructors to training classes, and providing of supervisors with reports on training progress and status.
- • Perform maintenance and minor repairs on firefighting equipment, including vehicles, and write and submit proposals to modify, replace, and repair equipment.
- • Schedule employee work assignments and set work priorities.
- • Monitor fire suppression expenditures to ensure that they are necessary and reasonable.
- • Participate in creating fire safety guidelines and evacuation schemes for nonresidential buildings.
- • Maintain required maps and records.
- • Drive crew carriers to transport firefighters to fire sites.
- • Inspect stations, uniforms, equipment, or recreation areas to ensure compliance with safety standards, taking corrective action as necessary.
- • Evaluate fire station procedures to ensure efficiency and enforcement of departmental regulations.
- • Direct firefighters in station maintenance duties, and participate in these duties.
- • Recommend personnel actions related to disciplinary procedures, performance, leaves of absence, and grievances.
- • Perform administrative duties, such as compiling and maintaining records, completing forms, preparing reports, or composing correspondence.
- • Direct investigation of cases of suspected arson, hazards, and false alarms and submit reports outlining findings.
- • Recommend equipment modifications or new equipment purchases.
- • Supervise and participate in the inspection of properties to ensure that they are in compliance with applicable fire codes, ordinances, laws, regulations, and standards.
- • Inspect and test new and existing fire protection systems, fire detection systems, and fire safety equipment to ensure that they are operating properly.
- • Study and interpret fire safety codes to establish procedures for issuing permits to handle hazardous or flammable substances.
- • Analyze burn conditions and results, and prepare postburn reports.
- • Evaluate size, location, and condition of fires.
- • Maintain knowledge of fire laws and fire prevention techniques and tactics.
- • Plan, direct, and supervise prescribed burn projects.
- • Recruit or hire firefighting personnel.
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Public Service & Safety
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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
