Guidance.help

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers is the O*NET name for people who directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in firefighting and fire prevention and control. The skills rated most useful are active listening, speaking, and management of personnel resources. You may also need to provide emergency medical services as required, and perform light to heavy rescue functions at emergencies. On the six-type interest model it reads ERC, meaning leading, persuading and making business decisions comes first, followed by hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world. Getting in usually takes one or two years of vocational training, an apprenticeship or an associate’s degree, a level O*NET calls medium preparation. It tends to suit people who want leading, persuading and making business decisions, and it offers little for anyone seeking creative work with room for original expression.

What they do

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in firefighting and fire prevention and control.

Main tasks

  • Provide emergency medical services as required, and perform light to heavy rescue functions at emergencies.
  • Maintain fire suppression equipment in good condition, checking equipment periodically to ensure that it is ready for use.
  • Assign firefighters to jobs at strategic locations to facilitate rescue of persons and maximize application of extinguishing agents.
  • 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.
  • Evaluate size, location, and condition of fires.

Skills

  • Active Listening
  • Speaking
  • Management of Personnel Resources
  • Critical Thinking
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Monitoring

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like taking the lead and making the call.
  • You like ending the day with a physical result you can point to.
  • You are willing to put in a year or two of focused training.
  • You are comfortable relying on active listening and speaking.

May not suit you if

  • You would rather not persuade, sell or manage other people.
  • You need creative expression to be a big part of your day. Artistic rates 1.0 out of 7 here.
  • You need to start within a few months, with no training period.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code ERC takes the three highest, and Enterprising comes first here.

Preparation

Medium preparation. Expect vocational school, an apprenticeship, related experience or an associate’s degree, usually one or two years in total.

Also called

  • Battalion Chief
  • Engine Boss
  • Fire Battalion Chief
  • Fire Captain
  • Fire Chief

Related careers

Is this your direction?

See how your interests line up with ERC and 906 other careers.

Take the career test

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.