What You'll 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.

Essential Skills

Active Listening 4.0/5
Critical Thinking 3.88/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.75/5
Reading Comprehension 3.62/5
Speaking 3.62/5
Monitoring 3.62/5
Coordination 3.62/5
Service Orientation 3.62/5
Judgment and Decision Making 3.62/5
Management of Personnel Resources 3.62/5
Instructing 3.5/5
Complex Problem Solving 3.5/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Leader: Taking charge and moving ideas forward motivates you.
  • Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.

Common styles

Leadership Orientation, Stress Tolerance, Dependability, Cooperation, Self-Control

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Expression 4.25/5
Oral Comprehension 4.12/5
Problem Sensitivity 4.12/5
Near Vision 4.0/5
Deductive Reasoning 3.75/5
Inductive Reasoning 3.75/5
Written Comprehension 3.62/5
Written Expression 3.62/5

Technologies & Tools

Affiliated Computer Services ACS FIREHOUSE BehavePlus BIO-key FireRMS Computer aided dispatch software Corel WordPerfect Office Suite Email software ESRI ArcView FARSITE Fire incident reporting systems FlamMap Geographic information system GIS software Geographic information system GIS systems IBM Lotus 1-2-3 Incident command system ICS software Mapping software Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Outlook Microsoft PowerPoint

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Leadership Orientation (High importance: 5.0/5)
  • Stress Tolerance (High importance: 5.0/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.95/5)
  • Cooperation (High importance: 4.79/5)
  • Self-Control (High importance: 4.75/5)

Want to see how YOUR strengths align with this career?

Take Free 15-Min Assessment →

How to Become One

This career typically requires vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some specialized training or certification may also be required.

Similar Careers to Explore

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers

99.8% similar profile

Farm Labor Contractors

99.7% similar profile

Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials

99.7% similar profile

First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers

99.6% similar profile

First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers

99.6% similar profile

First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers

99.4% similar profile

First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers

99.4% similar profile

Recycling Coordinators

99.4% similar profile

Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Battalion Chief Captain Chief Crew Boss Crew Chief Damage Prevention Coordinator Deputy Fire Marshal District Fire Management Officer Engine Boss Engine Captain Fire Battalion Chief Fire Captain Fire Chief Fire Coordinator Fire Department Battalion Chief Fire Department Captain Fire Lieutenant Fire Marshal Fire Prevention Bureau Captain Fire Prevention Captain Fire Prevention Chief Fire Prevention Officer Fire Supervisor Fire Suppression Captain Forest Fire Management Officer Forest Fire Specialist Supervisor Hotshot Superintendent Incident Commander Lieutenant Lieutenant Firefighter Municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisor Operations Chief Prevention Coordinator Section Forest Fire Warden Shift Commander Single Resource Boss Smoke Jumper Supervisor Squad Boss State Fire Marshal Supervising Fire Marshal Supervisory Forester

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.