Fire protection technician to chief fire officer
A fire protection technician already meets 34% of what the chief fire officer role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
65/ 100
1 How much of what a chief fire officer is expected to do is already part of a fire protection technician’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the chief fire officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A chief fire officer role treats 6 of its required skills as things a fire protection technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- fire prevention procedures
- fire safety regulations
- fire-fighting systems
- organise fire drills
- pyrotechnic articles legislation
- use different types of fire extinguishers
What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A chief fire officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a fire protection technician background worth leading with.
- already held organise fire drills management skills
- already held pyrotechnic articles legislation business, administration and law
- already held operate fire extinguishers assisting and caring
- already held use different types of fire extinguishers assisting and caring
- already held fire prevention procedures services
- already held fire-fighting systems services
All 11 carried skills, including the 6 the chief fire officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn implement fire safety management plans required
- still to learn lead a team required
- still to learn manage emergency care situations required
- still to learn manage staff required
- optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
- optional, not held coordinate rescue missions optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn ensure public safety and security required
- still to learn extinguish fires required
- still to learn manage major incidents required
- optional, not held apply first response optional
- optional, not held select hazard control optional
- optional, not held supervise worker safety optional
- still to learn work as a team in a hazardous environment required
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held coordinate with other emergency services optional
- optional, not held educate public on fire safety optional
- optional, not held maintain operational communications optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- still to learn first response required
- still to learn use geographic information systems required
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a chief fire officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ensure public safety and security practise this
- 02 first response study this
- 03 implement fire safety management plans practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 11 skills that carry over
- already held fire prevention procedures knowledge
- already held fire safety regulations knowledge
- already held fire-fighting systems knowledge
- already held organise fire drills skill
- already held pyrotechnic articles legislation knowledge
- already held use different types of fire extinguishers skill
- already held environmental policy knowledge
- already held hydraulics knowledge
- already held operate fire extinguishers skill
- already held perform risk analysis skill
- already held test safety strategies skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held manage security equipment optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
- optional, not held apply first response optional
- optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held coordinate rescue missions optional
- optional, not held coordinate with other emergency services optional
- optional, not held educate public on fire safety optional
- optional, not held maintain operational communications optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage security equipment optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held select hazard control optional
- optional, not held supervise worker safety optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
17 held skills the chief fire officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on safety improvements skill
- not needed by the target role arrange equipment repairs skill
- not needed by the target role estimate damage skill
- not needed by the target role execute vehicle maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role habitat restoration knowledge
- not needed by the target role handling of dangerous goods knowledge
- not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect fire equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain safety systems skill
- not needed by the target role order equipment skill
- not needed by the target role organise fire station skill
- not needed by the target role perform minor repairs to equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform preventive maintenance on fire fighting vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role pollution prevention knowledge
- not needed by the target role undertake inspections skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn first response required
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
Other moves recorded from fire protection technician
Common questions about this move
Can a fire protection technician become a chief fire officer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A fire protection technician already covers 34% of what a chief fire officer is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 6 of which the chief fire officer role treats as required.
What skills does a fire protection technician need to become a chief fire officer?
10 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is ensure public safety and security.
How hard is the move from fire protection technician to chief fire officer?
Its learning distance is 65 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.