How to become a Firefighter 2024

Firefighter 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.

Firefighter is Also Know as

In different settings, Firefighter is titled as

Fire Engineer
Fire Equipment Operator
Fire Fighter
Fire Management Specialist
Fire Technician (Fire Tech)
Firefighter
Forest Fire Suppression Specialist
Forestry Fire Technician (Forestry Fire Tech)
Hot Shot
Wildland Firefighter

Education and Training of Firefighter

Firefighter is categorized in Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Firefighter

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Education Required for Firefighter

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Degrees Related to Firefighter

Training Required for Firefighter

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Firefighter in different industries are

What Do Firefighter do?

Rescue victims 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.
Maintain contact with fire dispatchers at all times to notify them of the need for additional firefighters and supplies, or to detail any difficulties encountered.
Collaborate with other firefighters as a member of a firefighting crew.
Patrol burned areas after fires to locate and eliminate hot spots that may restart fires.
Collaborate with police to respond to accidents, disasters, and arson investigation calls.
Participate in fire drills and demonstrations of fire fighting techniques.
Maintain knowledge of current firefighting practices by participating in drills and by attending seminars, conventions, and conferences.
Prepare written reports that detail specifics of fire incidents.
Participate in physical training activities to maintain a high level of physical fitness.
Protect property from water and smoke, using waterproof salvage covers, smoke ejectors, and deodorants.
Inform and educate the public on fire prevention.
Salvage property by removing broken glass, pumping out water, and ventilating buildings to remove smoke.
Orient self in relation to fire, using compass and map, and collect supplies and equipment dropped by parachute.
Clean and maintain fire stations and fire fighting equipment and apparatus.
Inspect buildings for fire hazards and compliance with fire prevention ordinances, testing and checking smoke alarms and fire suppression equipment as necessary.
Take action to contain any hazardous chemicals that could catch fire, leak, or spill.
Extinguish flames and embers to suppress fires, using shovels or engine- or hand-driven water or chemical pumps.
Administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation to injured persons or provide emergency medical care such as basic or advanced life support.
Operate pumps connected to high-pressure hoses.
Search to locate fire victims.
Train new employees to control and suppress fires.

Qualities of Good Firefighter

Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Tools Used by Firefighter

Adjustable wrenches
Aerial lifting apparatus
Aerial trucks
Air bag lifting systems
Air chisels
Air purifying respirators
Air samplers
All terrain vehicles ATV
Aluminum ladders
Ambu bags
Automated external defibrillators AED
Automatic blood pressure cuffs
Aviation snips
Backboards
Backfiring fusees
Backpack pumps
Block and tackle equipment
Body harnesses
Bolt cutters
Bomb blankets
Bomb response vehicles
Carbon dioxide CO2 fire extinguishers
Ceiling hooks
Chain saws
Channel lock pliers
Charged fire hoses
Chemical detection testers
Chemical protection footwear
Chemical protection gloves
Circular saws
Claw hammers
Cold chisels
Combustible gas detectors
Copper grounding cables
Diagonal cutting pliers
Drip torches
Dry chemical fire extinguishers
Electrical resistance meters
Electrocardiography EKG machines
Electronic leak detectors
Emergency suction kits
Equipment transport trailers
Escape respirators
Evacuation baskets
Evacuation chairs
Evacuation stretchers
Explosive detection analyzers
Explosive detection robots
Extension ladders
Face shields
Falling saws
Farm tractors
Field emergency services neck braces
Field radiological measuring devices
Fire axes
Fire blankets
Fire hose clamps
Fire hose nozzles
Fire hoses
Fire resistant clothing
Fire resistant gloves
Fire shelters
Fire trucks
Firefighting boots
First aid kits
Flat head axes
Foam pumps
Forest fire shovels
Full-spine immobilization devices
Gas-powered generators
Geological compasses
Glass cutters
Global positioning system GPS receivers
Glucometers
Ground resistance testers
Grounding cables
Hacksaws
Halligan bars
Hand trucks
Hand-operated pumps
Handheld computers
Handsaws
Hard hats
Hazardous materials protective suits
Hazardous materials spill control devices
HAZMAT response vehicles
Hearing protectors
High pressure fire hoses
Hux bars
Hydrant shutoff wrenches
Hydraulic extrication tools
Hydraulic rams
Infrared thermometers
Insulated wire cutters
Intermittent positive pressure breathing IPPB ventilators
Intravenous IV administration sets
Jacks
K-12 saws
Ladder trucks
Laptop computers
Life safety ropes
Life throw rings
Life vests
Limb restraints
Liquid splash protective clothing
Listening devices
Lug wrenches
Machetes
Manual blood pressure cuffs
Marsh rigs
Mattocks
McLeod tools
Mechanical stethoscopes
Metal detectors
Mobile data computers
Multi-gas detectors
Multipurpose fire extinguishers
Navigation compasses
Needlenose pliers
Non-sparking bung wrenches
Non-sparking hammers
Non-sparking spanner wrenches
Open end wrenches
Orthopedic splint sets
Oxygen cylinders
Parachutes
Personal computers
pH testing strips
Phillips head screwdrivers
Pick head axes
Picks
Pike poles
Pinch bars
Pipe wrenches
Portable meteorological stations
Power pumps
Protective fire boots
Protective fire coats
Protective fire helmets
Protective hoods
Pry bars
Psychrometers
Pulaski tools
Pulleys
Pulse oximeters
Pumper trucks
Pyrotechnic flares
Radio communications systems
Radio frequency identification RFID devices
Reciprocating hacksaws
Riggings
Rubbish hooks
Safety flares
Safety glasses
Safety goggles
Safety helmets
Scuba air regulators
Scuba suits
Search cameras
Self-contained breathing apparatus
Self-rescue ropes
Shovels
Single-bit axes
Sledgehammers
Slip joint pliers
Smoke ejectors
Socket wrenches
Spanner wrenches
Spinal immobilization equipment
Spotting scopes
Steel wedges
Stokes baskets
Straight screwdrivers
Surface thermometers
Surveillance binoculars
Synthetic fire hoses
Thermal imaging cameras
Torso restraints
Tracked bulldozers
Tractor-mounted mowers
Trauma type first aid kits
Tree saws
Trench rescue shoring jacks
Truck wheel chocks
Truck-mounted water pumps
Truck-mounted winches
Two way radios
Uncharged fire hoses
Underwater video cameras
Utility knives
Ventilation fans
Vise grip pliers
Water rescue boats
Water testers
Wildland fire engines
Wind gauges
Wood ladders

Technology Skills required for Firefighter

Affiliated Computer Services ACS FIREHOUSE
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
Email software
Fire incident reporting systems
Geographic information system GIS software
Incident command system ICS software
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
Operating system software
Plume modeling software
Spreadsheet software
Web browser software

US Universities

How to become Firefighter in 2024