Firefighters
Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.
345,990 people do this job in the US. $59,280 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 3%
- 0%
- 97%
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: 3%.
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 . 30 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean and maintain fire stations and fire fighting equipment and apparatus.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 16% | 1.7 h50 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Train new employees to control and suppress fires.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 11% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Collaborate with other firefighters as a member of a firefighting crew.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain knowledge of current firefighting practices by participating in drills and by attending seminars, conventions, and conferences.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Participate in fire drills and demonstrations of fire fighting techniques.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Collaborate with police to respond to accidents, disasters, and arson investigation calls.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Participate in physical training activities to maintain a high level of physical fitness.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min38 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Salvage property by removing broken glass, pumping out water, and ventilating buildings to remove smoke.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation to injured persons or provide emergency medical care such as basic or advanced life support.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Maintain contact with fire dispatchers at all times to notify them of the need for additional firefighters and supplies, or to detail any difficulties encountered.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 50 min | Stays with people |
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.
- First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers21% now, 29% by 2028
- Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists15% now, 16% by 2028
- Fire Inspectors and Investigators15% now, 54% by 2028
- Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers5% now, 61% by 2028
- Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers10% now, 12% by 2028
- Emergency Medical Technicians7% now, 60% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).