What does a fire prevention officer do? Fire Prevention Officers have a variety of duties including: educating children, community leaders and citizens on fire safety and life safety. Fire prevention officers...
Fire prevention officers serve several important roles in our community. They are the top agents in the nation when it comes to fire safety. As public servants, they prevent fires and save lives. Jeremy Robshaw, Public Education Officer for St. John's County Fire Rescue, tells us about some of their duties.
"Fire prevention officers develop, implement and actually perform fire safety programs to any member or group of members in the community. Whether its teaching fire prevention practices to daycare center children, elementary school, all the way through high school kids and community groups or community associations, we do it all," Robshaw says.
Fire prevention officers are implementers and teachers. They have a huge role in cities where they exist. Another part of their job is incorporating programs developed by the National Fire Protection Association or NFPA. It is the leading authority in the world when it comes to fire safety and standards.
"We teach people fire prevention practices in order to help them lead a fire-safe life. We also do fire safety training relating specifically to extinguishers. We go out and use simulators that actually put businesses and employees through extinguisher training to teach them how to safely and appropriately use a fire extinguisher," Robshaw says.
Robshaw knows first-hand what fire prevention officers do, he is one of them. He enjoys giving back to the community, because he feels he is helping others.
"I am in charge of doing the scheduling and planning of the programs. I have a variety of tasks that I have to do on a daily basis and that is always changing - it's always something new. My favorite part of my job is getting to deal with members of the community, getting to talk to people. And hopefully what they have learned can make a difference one day if they ever face one of these fire incidents," Robshaw says.
Fire prevention officers patrol and inspect buildings to find and eliminate fire hazards. They also help discourage vandalism. They enforce rules and regulations and they safeguard life and property at state facilities and institutions.
Fire prevention officers respond to fire alarms and report irregular activities, answer questions from people, and give fire safety directions to employees and the public. Robshaw says they are the first line of defense against potential fires.
