Profession chief fire officer

Chief fire officers supervise a fire department. They coordinate the operations of the department, and supervise and lead the fire and rescue staff during firefighting and rescue activities to ensure the safety of the staff and limitation of risks. They perform administrative duties to ensure record maintenance, and implement policies to improve the department's operations.

Personality Type

• Enterprising / Investigative

Knowledge

• Fire prevention procedures

  The regulations concerning fire and explosion prevention, and the equipment, systems and methods used in it.

• Fire-fighting systems

  The devices and systems used to extinguish fires; the classes and chemistry of fire.

• Fire safety regulations

  The legal rules to be applied for fire safety and fire prevention in a facility.

• Pyrotechnic articles legislation

  The legal rules surrounding pyrotechnics and pyrotechnic materials.

• First response

  The procedures of pre-hospital care for medical emergencies, such as first aid, resuscitation techniques, legal and ethical issues, patient assessment, trauma emergencies.

Skills

• Lead a team

  Lead, supervise and motivate a group of people, in order to meet the expected results within a given timeline and with the foreseen resources in mind.

• Delegate activities

  Delegate activities and tasks to others according to the ability, level of preparation, competence and legal scope of practice. Make sure that people understand what they should do and when they should do it.

• Manage emergency care situations

  Manage situations in which decision making under time pressure is essential to save lives.

• Use different types of fire extinguishers

  Understand and apply various methods of firefighting and various types and classes of fire extinguishing equipment.

• Ensure public safety and security

  Implement the relevant procedures, strategies and use the proper equipment to promote local or national security activities for the protection of data, people, institutions, and property.

• Work as a team in a hazardous environment

  Work together with others in a dangerous, sometimes noisy, environment, such as a building on fire or metal forging facilities, in order to achieve a higher degree of efficiency while heeding the co-workers' safety.

• Manage staff

  Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.

• Manage major incidents

  Take immediate action to respond to major incidents that affect the safety and security of individuals in private or public places such as road accidents.

• Extinguish fires

  Choose the adequate substances and methods to extinguish fires depending on their size, such as water and various chemical agents. Use a breathing apparatus.

• Use geographic information systems

  Work with computer data systems such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB