Careers Overview

Fire Protection

CAL FIRE is the State's largest fire protection organization. Department firefighters, fire engines, and aircraft respond to an average 6,300 wildland fires and answers the call more than 300,000 times for other emergencies each year. Personnel are trained and equipped to respond to all types of emergencies including wildland fires, residential/commercial structure fires, automobile accidents, heart attacks, drownings, lost hikers, hazardous material spills, train wrecks, floods, earthquakes - the list is endless. Stationed throughout the State, CAL FIREers are integral members of the communities they serve.

Resource Management

CAL FIRE's Resource Management Programs strive to maintain the sustainability of California's natural resources. Department programs and staff enforce the Forest Practice Act regulating timber harvesting on private lands, educate and assist landowners in managing their resources, research and demonstrate sound management practices on state forests, and work in conjunction with the Department's fire protection programs to prevent destructive wildfires through prescribed burning, and other methods of vegetation management.

Office of the State Fire Marshal

The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) supports the CAL FIRE mission to protect life and property through the development and application of fire prevention engineering, enforcement, and education. The OSFM has a wide variety of fire safety responsibilities including: regulating buildings in which people live, congregate, or are confined; by controlling substances and products which may, in and of themselves, or by their misuse, cause injuries, death, and destruction by fire; by providing statewide direction for fire prevention within wildland areas; by regulating hazardous liquid pipelines; by reviewing regulations and building standards; and by providing training and education in fire protection methods and responsibilities.

Administration

CAL FIRE's fire protection, resource management, and state fire marshal activities are supported by staff working in a variety of administrative fields such as accounting, budgeting, personnel, business services, clerical, and other occupations.