What Do Municipal Fire Fighting Supervisors Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Municipal Fire Fighting Supervisors supervise fire fighters who control and extinguish municipal fires, protect life and property, and conduct rescue efforts. They also assign firefighters to jobs at strategic locations to facilitate rescue of persons and maximize application of extinguishing agents.

Other tasks include:

• Provide emergency medical services as required, and perform light to heavy rescue functions at emergencies.
• Assess nature and extent of fire, condition of building, danger to adjacent buildings, and water supply status to determine crew or company requirements.
• Instruct and drill fire department personnel in assigned duties, including firefighting, medical care, hazardous materials response, fire prevention, and related subjects.
• Evaluate the performance of assigned firefighting personnel.
• Prepare activity reports listing fire call locations, actions taken, fire types and probable causes, damage estimates, and situation dispositions.
• Direct the training of firefighters, assigning of instructors to training classes, and providing of supervisors with reports on training progress and status.

We asked Municipal Fire Fighting Supervisors how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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82% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 85% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Municipal Fire Fighting Supervisors evaluate the performance of assigned firefighting personnel. They direct firefighters in station maintenance duties, and participate in these duties.

A typical day for a Municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisor will also include:

• Compile and maintain records on personnel, accidents, equipment, and supplies.
• Provide emergency medical services as required, and perform light to heavy rescue functions at emergencies.
• Evaluate fire station procedures to ensure efficiency and enforcement of departmental regulations.
• Prepare activity reports listing fire call locations, actions taken, fire types and probable causes, damage estimates, and situation dispositions.
• Direct the training of firefighters, assigning of instructors to training classes, and providing of supervisors with reports on training progress and status.

We asked some Municipal Fire Fighting Supervisors a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	64% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	71% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	44% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	59% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	2% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	53% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Municipal Fire Fighting Supervisors also direct the training of firefighters, assigning of instructors to training classes, and providing of supervisors with reports on training progress and status. They may also study and interpret fire safety codes to establish procedures for issuing permits to handle hazardous or flammable substances.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Municipal Fire Fighting Supervisors Document efforts taken to bring property owners into compliance with laws, codes, regulations, ordinances, and standards. They might also Instruct and drill fire department personnel in assigned duties, including firefighting, medical care, hazardous materials response, fire prevention, and related subjects.

In addition, they Attend in-service training classes to remain current in knowledge of codes, laws, ordinances, and regulations.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Assign firefighters to jobs at strategic locations to facilitate rescue of persons and maximize application of extinguishing agents.

To some Municipal Fire Fighting Supervisors, it is also their responsibility to Assess nature and extent of fire, condition of building, danger to adjacent buildings, and water supply status to determine crew or company requirements.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisor, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business..

They also like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/firefighters.htm

http://www.iaff.org/

http://www.i-women.org/

http://www.nfpa.org/