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Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers Career, Salary and Skills

Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $115,160 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 21,450. Wage data is published for 139 locations.

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Occupation description

Research causes of fires, determine fire protection methods, and design or recommend materials or equipment such as structural components or fire-detection equipment to assist organizations in safeguarding life and property against fire, explosion, and related hazards.

O*NET code

17-2111.02

Job zone

4

Typical education

Bachelor's Degree

Experience

None

National salary and employment

Median annual

$115,160

Hourly median

$55.36

Employment

21,450

Data year

2025

National salary distribution

$68,420
10th
$90,930
25th
$115,160
Median
$142,980
75th
$171,250
90th

Top skills

SkillImportanceLevel
Critical Thinking4.254.25
Judgment and Decision Making4.004.12
Reading Comprehension4.004.00
Complex Problem Solving4.004.00
Speaking4.004.00
Writing3.884.00
Active Learning3.884.12
Active Listening3.884.00
Systems Analysis3.884.00
Systems Evaluation3.884.12
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Typical tasks

  • Advise architects, builders, and other construction personnel on fire prevention equipment and techniques and on fire code and standard interpretation and compliance.
  • Design fire detection equipment, alarm systems, and fire extinguishing devices and systems.
  • Inspect buildings or building designs to determine fire protection system requirements and potential problems in areas such as water supplies, exit locations, and construction materials.
  • Review building plans to verify compliance with fire code.
  • Prepare and write reports detailing specific fire prevention and protection issues, such as work performed, revised codes or standards, and proposed review schedules.
  • Consult with authorities to discuss safety regulations and to recommend changes as necessary.
  • Evaluate fire department performance and the laws and regulations affecting fire prevention or fire safety.
  • Direct the purchase, modification, installation, testing, maintenance, and operation of fire prevention and protection systems.
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Technology

  • A Large Outdoor Fire plume Trajectory model Flat Terrain ALOFT-FT
  • Analysis of Smoke Control Systems ASCOS
  • ANSYS simulation software
  • Atria smoke management engineering tools ASMET
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Autodesk Revit
  • Available Safe Egress Time ASET
  • Bentley MicroStation
  • Berkeley Algorithm for Breaking Window Glass in a Compartment Fire BREAK1
  • Building Research Establishment BRE Jasmine
  • CESARE Risk
  • Computational Dynamics STAR-CD
  • Computational fluid dynamics CFD software
  • Consolidated compartment fire model CCFM
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Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers salary by location

Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.

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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.