Protective Service
Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists
Also called: Fire Management Officer, Fire Operations Forester, Fire Prevention Officer, Fire Prevention Technician
US median pay
$56,870
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+13.1%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
400
3,000 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 3/5 · Medium preparation
What this job is
Enforce fire regulations, inspect forest for fire hazards, and recommend forest fire prevention or control measures. May report forest fires and weather conditions.
What they do day to day
- 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.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Coordination3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.5/5
- Instructing3.2/5
- Time Management3.1/5
- Management of Personnel Resources3.1/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.0/5
- Persuasion3.0/5
Knowledge
- Administration and Management4.0/5
- Customer and Personal Service3.8/5
- Education and Training3.7/5
- Personnel and Human Resources3.7/5
- Public Safety and Security3.7/5
- Law and Government3.5/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 3 of 5 — Medium preparation. Usually vocational training, an associate's degree or an apprenticeship.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Highest education of people in this job:
- High school diploma32%
- Bachelor's degree24%
- Associate's degree18%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.