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Date: 10/06/2025

Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists

Enforce fire regulations, inspect forest for fire hazards, and recommend forest fire prevention or control measures. May report forest fires and weather conditions.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Educate the public about fire safety and prevention.
    • Estimate sizes and characteristics of fires, and report findings to base camps by radio or telephone.
    • Compile and report meteorological data, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and velocity, and types of cloud formations.
    • Direct maintenance and repair of firefighting equipment, or requisition new equipment.
    • Maintain records and logbooks.
    • Direct maintenance and repair of firefighting equipment, or requisition new equipment.
    • Inspect camp sites to ensure that campers are in compliance with forest use regulations.
    • Locate forest fires on area maps, using azimuth sighters and known landmarks.
    • Patrol assigned areas, looking for forest fires, hazardous conditions, and weather phenomena.
    • Educate the public about fire safety and prevention.
    • Inspect forest tracts and logging areas for fire hazards such as accumulated wastes or mishandling of combustibles, and recommend appropriate fire prevention measures.
    • Direct crews working on firelines during forest fires.
    • Examine and inventory firefighting equipment, such as axes, fire hoses, shovels, pumps, buckets, and fire extinguishers, to determine amount and condition.
    • Conduct wildland firefighting training.
    • Conduct wildland firefighting training.
    • Administer regulations regarding sanitation, fire prevention, violation corrections, and related forest regulations.
    • Extinguish smaller fires with portable extinguishers, shovels, and axes.
    • Patrol assigned areas, looking for forest fires, hazardous conditions, and weather phenomena.
    • Examine and inventory firefighting equipment, such as axes, fire hoses, shovels, pumps, buckets, and fire extinguishers, to determine amount and condition.
    • Inspect forest tracts and logging areas for fire hazards such as accumulated wastes or mishandling of combustibles, and recommend appropriate fire prevention measures.
    • Estimate sizes and characteristics of fires, and report findings to base camps by radio or telephone.
    • Relay messages about emergencies, accidents, locations of crew and personnel, and fire hazard conditions.
    • Educate the public about fire safety and prevention.
    • Restrict public access and recreational use of forest lands during critical fire seasons.
    • Conduct wildland firefighting training.

    Skills

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    Knowledge

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • US Annual Salary 52380/yr
    • US Typical Salary
    • US Hourly Wage 25.19/hr
    • US Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 20
    • Yearly Projected Openings 0

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Leadership
    • Integrity
    • Self Control
    • Independence

    Tools

    • Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
    • All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled
    • Anemometers
    • Axes
    • Binoculars
    • Brush cutter
    • Busses
    • Claw hammer
    • Direction finding compasses
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Fire pump sets
    • Garden chainsaw
    • Global positioning system GPS receiver
    • Hard hats
    • Hygrometers
    • Lawnmowers
    • Machetes
    • Minivans or vans
    • Mobile medical services first aid kits
    • Notebook computers
    • Radio frequency transmitters or receivers
    • Remote reading thermometers
    • Safety glasses
    • Signal mirror
    • Tablet computers
    • Telescopes
    • Two way radios
    • Weather stations
    • Wind vane

    Technology

    • Application server software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Cloud-based management software
    • Configuration management software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base management system software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Development environment software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Expert system software
    • File versioning software
    • Map creation software
    • Metadata management software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Web platform development software
    • Word processing software
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