Career:
Municipal Firefighter
Job Description: Control and extinguish municipal fires, protect life and property and conduct rescue efforts.
Is Municipal Firefighter the right career path for you?
Take the MyMajors Quiz and find out if it fits one of your top recommended majors!
What Municipal Firefighters do:
- Clean and maintain fire stations and fire fighting equipment and apparatus.
- Dress with equipment such as fire resistant clothing and breathing apparatus.
- Lay hose lines and connect them to water supplies.
- Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.
- Select and attach hose nozzles, depending on fire type, and direct streams of water or chemicals onto fires.
- Create openings in buildings for ventilation or entrance, using axes, chisels, crowbars, electric saws, or core cutters.
- Move toward the source of a fire using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties.
- Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios.
- Salvage property by removing broken glass, pumping out water, and ventilating buildings to remove smoke.
- Search burning buildings to locate fire victims.
- Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment.
- Participate in physical training activities to maintain a high level of physical fitness.
- Position and climb ladders to gain access to upper levels of buildings, or to rescue individuals from burning structures.
- Rescue victims from burning buildings and accident sites.
- Participate in fire drills and demonstrations of fire fighting techniques.
- Operate pumps connected to high-pressure hoses.
- Participate in courses, seminars and conferences, and study fire science literature, to learn firefighting techniques.
- Protect property from water and smoke using waterproof salvage covers, smoke ejectors, and deodorants.
- Inspect fire sites after flames have been extinguished to ensure that there is no further danger.
- Collaborate with police to respond to accidents, disasters, and arson investigation calls.
- Administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation to injured persons.
- Inform and educate the public on fire prevention.
- Take action to contain hazardous chemicals that might catch fire, leak, or spill.
- Establish firelines to prevent unauthorized persons from entering areas near fires.
- Prepare written reports that detail specifics of fire incidents.
- Inspect buildings for fire hazards and compliance with fire prevention ordinances, testing and checking smoke alarms and fire suppression equipment as necessary.
- Spray foam onto runways, extinguish fires, and rescue aircraft crew and passengers in air-crash emergencies.
What work activities does a Municipal Firefighter do?
| Importance | Activities | |
|---|---|---|
Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients. |
||
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment - Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or water craft. |
||
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material - Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects. |
||
Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials. |
||
Handling and Moving Objects - Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. |
||
Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
||
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
||
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems. |
||
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
||
Controlling Machines and Processes - Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles). |
||
Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
||
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public - Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
||
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
||
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
||
Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. |
||
Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment - Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles. |
||
Training and Teaching Others - Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. |
||
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization - Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. |
||
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards - Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards. |
||
Coaching and Developing Others - Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills. |
||
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
||
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People - Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. |
||
Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates - Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance. |
||
Developing Objectives and Strategies - Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them. |
||
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information - Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity. |
||
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others - Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks. |
||
Developing and Building Teams - Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members. |
||
Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
||
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others - Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others. |
||
Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. |
||
Interacting With Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. |
||
Provide Consultation and Advice to Others - Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics. |
||
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others - Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used. |
||
Analyzing Data or Information - Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts. |
||
Scheduling Work and Activities - Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others. |
||
Performing Administrative Activities - Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork. |
||
Monitoring and Controlling Resources - Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money. |
||
Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment - Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles. |
||
Staffing Organizational Units - Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization. |
||
Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment - Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used. |
||
Selling or Influencing Others - Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. |
||
Find YOUR college major
The fastest way toward knowing if Municipal Firefighter is the career for you is to take this quiz to find your college major and career recommendations.
For Students
Find a School
Research Majors
Magazines
Student Blogs
Financial Aid Advice
Scholarships/Grants
Mobile App
Major Quiz
For Counselors
What is MyMajors?
Counselor Resources
Counselor Blogs
Scholarships/Grants
Publications
Major Quiz

