Fire Prevention Intern - Non-Paid

Under the general supervision of the Fire Marshal or the Fire Inspector, the Fire Prevention Intern learns the processes involved, assists with and performs basic fire safety inspections of various occupancies to determine compliance with state and local fire and building codes; assists prevention staff with inspections for new construction and tenant improvements in all types of occupancies. The Fire Prevention Intern is responsible for learning to perform a wide range of administrative duties and related work within the Fire Prevention Bureau as required. The Fire Prevention Intern is required to commit to a minimum of 6 hours, one day per work week. This is a one year non-paid internship. Fire Prevention Intern must live within the Department Residency Boundary. Employees must reside in the local counties of San Diego, Riverside, Orange or Los Angeles.

This twelve month internship is designed to provide the knowledge and skills to successfully achieve the following learning outcomes:
1. Basic to advance understanding of and experience in conducting annual fire and life safety inspections of all occupancies.
2. Basic understanding of and field inspection experience in conducting construction and tenant improvement inspections.
3. Basic to advanced understanding and experience in the operation and inspection of various fire protection systems.
4. Learn how to research, interpret and apply fire and life safety codes in a variety of inspection scenarios.
5. Learn duties of weed abatement inspector, assist with weed abatement site inspections and notification process.
6. Evaluate and inspect new businesses for fire and life safety.

Representative Duties: Learns to perform and assists staff with miscellaneous inspections (i.e. sprinkler systems, fire alarms and special extinguishing systems); receives training in alternate methods and materials when it is appropriate to do so; follows up for compliance with codes when violations or deficiencies were noted during inspection. Learns to prepare letters, memos, inspection records and technical reports; maintains reports and records. Learns applicable fire code sections and proper storage requirements of hazardous materials. Learns to perform technical fire safety inspections of industrial, commercial, and residential properties to determine compliance with state and local fire and building codes. Assists staff with and learns plan check duties as required; communicates with consultants, city and/or county staff, architects and contractors on requirements for projects. Assists with issuing permits (burning, tents, pyrotechnics, model rockets, etc.). Assists with public presentations on fire safety and fire prevention topics; presents programs to civic groups and participates in the Fire Department and district wide public relations programs; assists in training city employees in fire prevention and protection techniques. Assists with the inspection or investigation citizen complaints about potential fire hazards. Assists in evaluating fire hazards and performing inspections of overgrown vegetation. Shadows staff while meeting with citizen groups, organizations, contractors, architects, engineers, and developers regarding fire protection systems, access requirements, building requirements, and other fire prevention life safety issues. Performs other related duties as required.

Requirements: High school graduation or equivalent, valid driver's license with satisfactory driving record, California State Fire Marshal certification in Fire Inspector 1A (required), Fire Inspector 1B, 1C and 1D (desirable), specialized classes in fire prevention or building construction

Salary: $0.00 Hourly

Application Deadline: 2026-10-27