I arrived at the job site about fifteen minutes early, boots on, wearing a clean long-sleeve shirt and carrying a copy of my resume in a folder—just in case. The site was busy, lots of equipment and movement, and I could already feel the heat radiating off the welding zone. I checked in at the site trailer, where a guy named Rick, the safety supervisor, greeted me.
“Firewatch, right?” he asked, scanning a clipboard. I nodded. He motioned for me to come inside. The trailer was cool—AC blasting—and had that typical construction-office smell: coffee, dust, and oil. We sat down at a folding table, and he started right in.
“So, tell me a little about your experience. Ever done firewatch before?”
I explained that I had, mostly during short-term contracts at refineries and shipyards. I mentioned my current OSHA-10 certification, and that I’d been through Hot Work safety training. I also talked about staying alert for potential hazards, checking for combustibles, and keeping my extinguisher within reach at all times. He seemed to appreciate the detail.
Rick asked a few more scenario-based questions. “What would you do if sparks hit a nearby rag pile?” “How often do you check the area after the job’s done?” I told him about the mandatory 30-minute post-watch and my habit of circling the area every five to ten minutes during work, checking behind barriers or under nearby equipment.
Then came the practical stuff. He wanted to know if I was comfortable working long shifts, often outdoors, in full PPE. I said yes—it’s part of the job. He asked about my comfort level around confined spaces and heights. Again, I was honest. Heights were fine, confined spaces I’d done before, as long as I had a proper permit and an attendant on-site.
After that, he went over a few expectations: staying off your phone, no headphones, always being within arm’s reach of your extinguisher, and keeping a log of any incidents or unsafe behavior.
He wrapped it up by saying, “We’re looking for people who are sharp and don’t treat this like a background job. Firewatch is the last line before something goes wrong.”
I nodded. “That’s how I treat it. Nothing passive about it.”
He smiled and said they’d be making decisions by the end of the week. I thanked him, shook his hand, and walked out feeling confident. It wasn’t a flashy interview, but in this line of work, it’s more about whether they can trust you to keep your eyes open when it matters most.
