How To Become A Fire Equipment Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a fire equipment operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a fire equipment operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.81 an hour? That's $37,052 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 13,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFire Equipment OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,052

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.95%

Asian 1.87%

Black or African American 8.46%

Hispanic or Latino 15.00%

Unknown 4.78%

White 68.95%

Gender

female 7.14%

male 92.86%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.2

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a fire equipment operator

Explore fire equipment operator education requirements

Most common fire equipment operator degrees

Associate

40.7 %

Bachelor's

25.9 %

High School Diploma

22.2 %

Start to develop specific fire equipment operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Medical Care	22.19%
Emergency Situations	21.55%
Fire Prevention	19.26%
Firefighting	14.34%
Fire Apparatus	10.91%

Complete relevant fire equipment operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New fire equipment operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a fire equipment operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real fire equipment operator resumes.

Research fire equipment operator duties and responsibilities

Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.
Participate in, and conduct firefighting training.
Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.
Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.

Prepare your fire equipment operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your fire equipment operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a fire equipment operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable fire equipment operator resume templates

Build a professional fire equipment operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your fire equipment operator resume.