Firefighters
Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.
Firefighters control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance. The role reports a median annual salary of $59,530 in the US and is projected to grow 3% over the next decade (about as fast as average). Entry typically requires a Postsecondary nondegree award, and shows low AI exposure (0.23 on a 0-1 scale) — the role's core work resists automation. The most in-demand skills for the role include fire safety regulations, hydraulics, fire prevention procedures, fire-fighting systems, health and safety regulations.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £44,033 a year for Fire service officers (watch manager and below) (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £38,111 to £50,976 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 3313). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Service and sales workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only Firefighters, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 5. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
1 open listing on our jobs board → Recent listings whose job title matches this career. Some jobs in this career are advertised under other titles.
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Public Safety and Security
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Building and Construction
- English Language
- Mechanical
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Telecommunications
A day in the life
You start your shift at the fire station by checking every piece of equipment on the engine, testing breathing sets, radios and hoses, and cleaning the trucks. After a short drill on ladder work, the alarm sounds: a kitchen fire in a block of flats. You pull on your fire-resistant gear and breathing apparatus as the engine pulls out. On arrival you size up the building and radio conditions to your officer, then move inside with your crew, reading the smoke and the layout as you advance the hose toward the source. A colleague forces open a jammed door with a crowbar and you guide a trapped resident down the stairs. Back at the station you wash and restock gear, fill in the incident report and later answer a call to a car crash where you help free a driver from the wreck. Much of the day is cleaning and waiting. Carrying someone out alive is the part you never forget.
Illustrative: one typical day, written from the O*NET task statements for this occupation. Real days vary by employer and seniority.
What you'd actually do
- Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
- Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus.
- Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios.
- Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties.
- Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.
- Create openings in buildings for ventilation or entrance, using axes, chisels, crowbars, electric saws, or core cutters.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does Firefighters do?
Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.
What does a typical day look like in Firefighters?
You start your shift at the fire station by checking every piece of equipment on the engine, testing breathing sets, radios and hoses, and cleaning the trucks. After a short drill on ladder work, the alarm sounds: a kitchen fire in a block of flats. You pull on your fire-resistant gear and breathing apparatus as the engine pulls out.
How much does Firefighters earn?
The median annual salary for Firefighters in the US is $59,530.
What is the job outlook for Firefighters?
The role is projected to grow 3% over the next decade (about as fast as average). Current US employment is approximately 344,900 workers.
How do I become a firefighters?
The typical entry education is a Postsecondary nondegree award. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.
What skills does Firefighters need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include fire safety regulations, hydraulics, fire prevention procedures, fire-fighting systems, health and safety regulations, first aid. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace Firefighters?
Our AI-durability model gives Firefighters a score of 0.23 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at low AI exposure — the role's core work resists current-generation automation. It's a comparatively AI-durable choice within its field.
How hard is it to enter this field?
Firefighters has low barrier to entry — generally accessible — you can enter with basic credentials and on-the-job learning.