Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists

What the job really is

Enforce fire regulations, inspect forest for fire hazards, and recommend forest fire prevention or control measures. May report forest fires and weather conditions.

At a glance

• Sector: Protective Service
• O*NET-SOC code: 33-2022
• O*NET job zone: 3 — medium preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Relay messages about emergencies, accidents, locations of crew and personnel, and fire hazard conditions.
• Conduct wildland firefighting training.
• Estimate sizes and characteristics of fires, and report findings to base camps by radio or telephone.
• Direct crews working on firelines during forest fires.
• Locate forest fires on area maps, using azimuth sighters and known landmarks.
• Extinguish smaller fires with portable extinguishers, shovels, and axes.
• Patrol assigned areas, looking for forest fires, hazardous conditions, and weather phenomena.
• Compile and report meteorological data, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and velocity, and types of cloud formations.
• Examine and inventory firefighting equipment, such as axes, fire hoses, shovels, pumps, buckets, and fire extinguishers, to determine amount and condition.
• Educate the public about fire safety and prevention.
• Direct maintenance and repair of firefighting equipment, or requisition new equipment.
• Maintain records and logbooks.

Tools and technology

Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation, Amazon Web Services AWS software, Ansible software, Docker, Facebook, Git, Kubernetes, Linux, Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP, Microsoft Azure software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
• Firefighters
• Fire Inspectors and Investigators
• Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers
• Forest and Conservation Technicians
• Foresters
• Emergency Management Directors
• Range Managers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 3 (medium preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.