Really!! I have never heard before about this option, is general expression when we try to discuss this profession related career opportunities with parents, students and people preparing for competitive examinations. What we learnt from our discussions is that general perception about fire safety profession is limited around state fire services. How someone can join this profession is not a popular question because till now in India, fire safety has not been given due importance.
A qualified fire professional is very much in demand in government and private sector. A person based upon qualification can join government organization as non-executive/non-gazetted or executive/gazetted employee. This is also true for private organization, where an individual can join at lower level i.e. fireman or maintainer or as a fire officer and subsequently rise up to higher management level such as General Manager / Vice President / Director.
What this career has to offer? sense of responsibility and opportunity to save lives along with lots of thrill and adventure. Anyone can choose to be either a fire fighter or fire protection engineers / consultant. People who are fire fighters and performing field duty (state fire service / plants/ industries etc.) has opportunity to attend fire / rescue calls, inspection of buildings, participation with police, NSG, medical services and other agencies.
Whereas, role of fire protection engineers / consultant is to provide technical support to architects / engineers to improve fire safety designs to prevent fires and safeguarding lives, property and assets from fire. Apart from this, a fire protection engineer analyzes technical data, conducts fire hazard assessments, drafts fire protection policies and leads fire safety projects of the organization. A qualified and trained fire fighter / fire protection engineer has an advantage over other safety professionals in understanding;
- Origin and growth of fire (within and outside structure).
- Products of combustion.
- Burning behavior of building materials.
- Suitability of fire prevention and protection systems.
- Implementation of fire safety codes / acts.
Now, coming back to the topic “ Fire Safety as a career choice”, there are many sub-domains under fire safety profession, where a person can start his / her career options, such as ;
- Firefighter
- Fire protection system design engineer
- Fire inspector/Auditor
- Fire safety trainer
- Fire and life safety consultant
- Arson Investigator
- Product / equipment manufacturer