Firefighter
What the work is
Responds to fire alarms and emergency calls, controls and extinguishes fires, and protects life and property.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Responds to fire alarms and emergency calls
- Operates pumps, sprays water, foam and chemicals from hoses, portable extinguishers and other appliances to extinguish fires and to disperse or neutralise dangerous substances
- Locates, rescues and evacuates people trapped in dangerous situations, and provides first aid and medical assistance to injured individuals
- Visits buildings and potential fire hazards to study access points and locations of hydrants
- Conducts fire prevention and safety education programs for the public
- Maintains firefighting equipment and vehicles
- Participates in firefighting training exercises, drills and demonstrations
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional suburban fire station and its crew, covering homes, shops and a school. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A crew checks an alarm call, finds a small problem and fixes it before it grows
- A school visit where the kids can recite the escape plan better than their parents
- A quiet night where the crew finishes training, cooks dinner and gets some sleep
Hard days
- A call that comes in during the middle of the night after a long shift
- Doing a job well and still having to explain to an upset resident what was lost
- Training in the heat in heavy gear, again, for a call that may never come
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 451232, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.