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.
Also called: Fire Management Officer · Fire Operations Forester · Fire Prevention Officer · Fire Prevention Technician · Fire Technician · Forest Officer
Median pay (national)
$52,380
$33,590–$100,450 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
2,780
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+14.6%
~300 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $100,450 versus $33,590 at the bottom 10% — 3.0x. The median of $52,380 leaves roughly 92% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +14.6% from 2024 to 2034 — much faster than the 3% average for all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 300 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 14 states with released data, California pays the most for this role (median $90,290, +72% vs the national median), while Mississippi sits lowest at $26,460 — a 241% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Speaking, Active Listening as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Learning Strategies
- Active Learning
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- 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.
- Examine and inventory firefighting equipment, such as axes, fire hoses, shovels, pumps, buckets, and fire extinguishers, to determine amount and condition.
- Educate the public about fire safety and prevention.
Tools & technology
- Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation
- Amazon Web Services AWS software
- Ansible software
- Docker
- Git
- Kubernetes
- Linux
- Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP
- Microsoft Azure software
- Microsoft PowerShell
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Microsoft Windows
- Microsoft Windows Server
- Puppet
- Salesforce software
Knowledge areas
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language