Explore by Career/Protective Service
First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in firefighting and fire prevention and control.
- Median pay
- $92,430
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +3.4%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Service Orientation
What they do
- 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.
Majors that lead here
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.