Firefighters
Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.
This is a specialization of
FirefightersCareer Overview Video
AI Impact Assessment
AI Resilience Score
Score 4/6: low AI task exposure means AI will assist but humans remain essential
How we calculated this:
14% of tasks can be accelerated by AI
+3% projected (2024-2034)
EPOCH score: 18/25
Key Responsibilities
- Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
- Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus.
- Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios.
- Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties.
- Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.
- Create openings in buildings for ventilation or entrance, using axes, chisels, crowbars, electric saws, or core cutters.
- Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment.
- Inspect fire sites after flames have been extinguished to ensure that there is no further danger.
- Position and climb ladders to gain access to upper levels of buildings, or to rescue individuals from burning structures.
- Select and attach hose nozzles, depending on fire type, and direct streams of water or chemicals onto fires.
Education & Training
Typical Entry Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Time to Job Ready
1-3 years
Based on Job Zone 3. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.
Technology Skills
Key Abilities
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Find jobs and training programs for firefighters- Median salary: $57K/year
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Compensation Details
Based on 315,460 employed workers
Also Known As
Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics
O*NET Code: 33-2011.00