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Forest Fire Fighting & Prevention Supervisors

Also called: Engine Boss, Fire Captain, Fire Management Officer, Squad Boss

What they do:
Supervise fire fighters who control and suppress fires in forests or vacant public land.
On the job, you would:
  • 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.
  • Maintain fire suppression equipment in good condition, checking equipment periodically to ensure that it is ready for use.

Knowledge

Safety and Government
  • public safety and security
Business
  • customer service
  • human resources (HR)
Education and Training
  • teaching and course design
Engineering and Technology
  • building and construction

Skills

Basic Skills
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
  • talking to others
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Abilities

Verbal
  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
  • notice when problems happen
  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
Hand and Finger Use
  • hold or move items with your hands
  • keep your arm or hand steady
Attention
  • pay attention to something without being distracted

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
leading, making decisions, and business.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Dependability
  • Integrity
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Adaptability/Flexibility
  • Initiative
  • Concern for Others

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Analytical or scientific software
  • BehavePlus
  • FARSITE
Data base user interface and query software
  • Fire incident reporting systems
  • Microsoft Access
Word processing software
  • Corel WordPerfect software
  • Microsoft Word

Education

Education: (rated 3 of 5)
high school diploma
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Below Average Outlook
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
Salary
$69,510
per year, on average
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about forest fire fighting and prevention supervisors.