Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers
Research causes of fires, determine fire protection methods, and design or recommend materials or equipment such as structural components or fire-detection equipment to assist organizations in safeguarding life and property against fire, explosion, and related hazards.
$115,160 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
of the working time. Estimate.
- 69%
- 9%
- 22%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 5%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design fire detection equipment, alarm systems, and fire extinguishing devices and systems.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 15% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.4 work weeks | 0%Half by May 2028 | |
| Evaluate fire department performance and the laws and regulations affecting fire prevention or fire safety.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 15% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.4 work weeks | 0%Half by May 2028 | |
| Develop plans for the prevention of destruction by fire, wind, and water.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 15% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.4 work weeks | 0%Half by May 2028 | |
| Inspect buildings or building designs to determine fire protection system requirements and potential problems in areas such as water supplies, exit locations, and construction materials.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Review building plans to verify compliance with fire code.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1.3 work days | 32%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Study the relationships between ignition sources and materials to determine how fires start.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 9% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 1%Half by Jun 2028 | |
| Conduct research on fire retardants and the fire safety of materials and devices.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 7% | 4.2 work days1 work day to 3.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Determine causes of fires and ways in which they could have been prevented.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1.4 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Prepare and write reports detailing specific fire prevention and protection issues, such as work performed, revised codes or standards, and proposed review schedules.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | 32%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Advise architects, builders, and other construction personnel on fire prevention equipment and techniques and on fire code and standard interpretation and compliance.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Direct the purchase, modification, installation, testing, maintenance, and operation of fire prevention and protection systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Develop training materials and conduct training sessions on fire protection.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 3.1 work days | 3%Half by Oct 2027 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Fire Inspectors and Investigators15% now, 54% by 2028
- Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists15% now, 16% by 2028
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors10% now, 62% by 2028
- First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers21% now, 29% by 2028
- Firefighters3% now, 3% by 2028
- Construction and Building Inspectors24% now, 48% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.