Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists: Career Overview
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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What Do Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists Do?
Typical responsibilities of forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists span:
- 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.
Skills and Knowledge
Top forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The competencies that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Knowledge Areas
Other Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists Job Titles
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- District Ranger
- Environmental Protection Fire Control Officer
- Fire Management Officer
- Fire Management Technician
- Fire Observer
- Fire Operations Forester
- Fire Prevention Officer
- Fire Prevention Technician
Employment and Demand
There are about 455,178 forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +8.2% over the projection horizon.
Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $44,909 |
| Hourly median | $21.59 |
| 10th percentile | $24,743 |
| 25th percentile | $34,826 |
| 75th percentile | $54,992 |
| 90th percentile | $65,075 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| California | $90,290 |
| Oklahoma | $79,350 |
| Utah | $77,480 |
| Louisiana | $74,650 |
| Oregon | $70,910 |
| Maine | $66,310 |
| New Jersey | $57,950 |
| Colorado | $53,500 |
| Washington | $51,370 |
| Florida | $48,900 |
| Georgia | $46,170 |
| Arkansas | $42,260 |
| Alabama | $34,920 |
| Mississippi | $26,460 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Earnings for forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists differ across the country. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $84,960 | 20.7% | 1.47 |
| Southwest | $79,350 | 17.1% | 10.94 |
| New England | $66,310 | 3.1% | 5.08 |
| Rocky Mountains | $59,255 | 13.0% | 3.26 |
| Middle Atlantic | $57,950 | 6.7% | 1.74 |
| Southeast | $45,398 | 39.4% | 3.74 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $122,760 | 40 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $108,400 | 40 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $99,600 | 60 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | UT | $77,480 | 40 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $61,820 | 100 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $56,850 | |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | CO | $53,500 | 60 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | FL | $52,460 | 30 |
Tech Stack
- Cloud-based management software: Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Amazon Web Services AWS software (hot technology)
- Expert system software: Ansible software (hot technology)
- Application server software: Docker (hot technology)
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- File versioning software: Git (hot technology)
- Application server software: Kubernetes (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Linux (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP (hot technology)
- Development environment software: Microsoft Azure software (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
The work environment for forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Contact With Others
- Telephone Conversations
Getting Started in This Career
Typical forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Emergency Management Directors (Primary-Long)
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors (Supplemental)
- Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers (Primary-Short)
- Range Managers (Primary-Long)
- Foresters (Primary-Long)
- Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health (Supplemental)
- Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health (Supplemental)
- Forest and Conservation Technicians (Primary-Short)
Degree Programs
Students preparing for forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists commonly pursue programs in:
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services
2 programs across 1 majors
Natural Resources and Conservation
1 programs across 1 majors
References
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 33-2022.00 (Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists).
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