Fire Protection

 

Career and Major Information
Earnings
Related Occupations
Related Web Sites

 

Career and Major Information:

Walters State's two-year concentration in Fire Protection is designed to prepare successful graduates for entry-level employment opportunities in the field.  Fire protection duties may include responding to fire alarms or other emergency calls, establishing fire lines or securing a perimeter, rescuing individuals from burning structures, directing water or chemicals onto a fire, salvaging property, and providing emergency medical services.  In addition, a firefighter may be trained to use specialized equipment such as fire trucks, ladders, pumps, hoses and nozzles, and tools such as an ax, chisel, crowbar, or electric saw.  In between calls, all of this equipment must be cleaned and maintained, and training fire drills and inspections must be conducted.  Fire protection professionals can be specialized to work certain types of emergencies such as hazardous materials, forest fires, or aircraft emergencies.  Some firefighters become fire investigators, who determine the origin and causes of fires. They collect evidence, interview witnesses, and prepare reports on fires in cases where the cause may be arson or criminal negligence. Often they are called upon to testify in court.

Jobs may be found in municipal or county fire departments (some large cities have thousands of career firefighters, while many small towns have only a few), within private industry, on federal and state installations such as airports and military bases or ships, and in private firefighting companies. 

The minimum educational requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent, but employers typically favor applicants with some form of postsecondary education.  Average growth is expected through the year 2012.

 

Earnings:

The Tennessee Career Information Delivery System website lists the salary range for a beginning-level position in this field in Tennessee as $20,840 to $26,740 annually.  With experience, the range increases to $28,700 to $48,505.  The national average is higher by about $1,000 to $5,000 per year.  Salary figures quoted are based on national figures. Local or regional salaries may be lower.

 

Related Occupations:

Emergency Medical Technicians

Paramedics

Law Enforcement

 

Related Web Sites:

International Association of Firefighters

            http://www.iaff.org

U.S. Fire Administration

            http://www.usfa.fema.gov

 

Much of the above information was collected from the 2004-2005 Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Department of Labor.  For additional information on these and many other careers, please visit the following web sites:

 

Occupational Outlook Handbook - U.S. Department of Labor

www.bls.gov/oco/

 

Tennessee Career Information Delivery System (TCIDS)

http://tcids.tbr.edu/.

 

 

For information regarding specific degree program requirements, curriculum, or faculty, please see the department website at http://www.ws.edu/publicsafety/default.asp.