Workplace Spotlight

The Careers in a Fire Station

Fire stations are central hubs where emergency services and other workers gather to prepare for and respond to incidents, such as fires, floods, rescue and recovery missions, and other disasters (both natural and man-made). They need to be equipped and ready 24/7, as emergencies can happen at any time. They also work with schools, businesses, and community to spread awareness and recovery strategies for fire and other disasters.

Here are some things you can expect when working at a fire station:

1. Preparedness is key – you’ll need to be organised and on-the-ball to respond to emergencies at the drop of a hat.
2. A love of community – emergency service workers are an important part of the community, and work with all kinds of people every day.
3. It’s not just emergencies – they perform other services too, like fire education and safety training, community and youth engagement, helping out at local events, and more.

Key Outcome

Respond to emergency situations

The key focus of fire stations is to ensure that emergency services workers can respond to calls for help in a timely manner.

Key Tasks

• Taking calls for help and dispatching workers
• Performing rescue, assistance, and recovery operations
• Maintaining trucks and equipment
• Liaising and educating the public on fire safety

Industry

You can find fire stations in the public administration and safety industry

Fire stations are found in the public administration and safety industry. Fire and emergency services are generally run and funded by the government.

Work Environment

You can expect shift work and on-site work

Shift work  |  Work on-site  |  Jobs in all locations, including metro, regional, and rural  |  Stable job growth

Fires and emergencies can happen any time of the day or night, and so the people working in fire stations need to be ready 24/7. Shift work is very common, though some office-based workers might work more regular hours. There is also lots of opportunity for volunteer-based work if you’re unsure if you want to commit to a role full-time.

A lot of the work will be done either on-site, or travelling out to emergencies, so there is not much opportunity for remote work.

There are fire stations all across the country, from capital cities to tiny rural communities.

How do we expect working in a fire station to change in the future?

Unfortunately, the past few years have shown us the devastating effects of climate change and how natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe. Fire and emergency services are vital to the protection and recovery of communities around the country, and will become even more important as the population grows and disasters worsen.

There are lots of new technologies that help firefighters and other workers do their jobs more safely and efficiently than ever, but people will always be needed to operate machinery, and provide human connection and support for people who have been through disaster.