I've been to a Coast Guard Unit with firefighters. They had some full time paid staff and a few volunteers. Most of them appeared to be called Engineers. There were a couple of station Captain. Their Fire Chief was a very jolly guy!
Firefighters in the Coast Guard are Civilian GS-081 series Firefighters. They are actually a part of the Department of Transportation and not the Departmentt of Defense.
You start off as a Fireman Recruit. Then it's a Fireman Apprentice After this it's a Fireman. I am basing this on enlisted rank insignia that I have seen on the coast guard. I have no idea what these ranks mean!
The rank structure would be set the same for all jobs in the coast gaurd. If you have a certain numbers of collage credits you may be able to become an officer. I would check with a recruiter.
I've heard that some of the units have a Deputy or Assistant Chief who takes charge when the Chief is on leave. add a comment