Is CAL Fire a good company to work for?

CAL Fire has an overall rating of 3.8 out of 5, based on over 236 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 67% of employees would recommend working at CAL Fire to a friend and 63% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about CAL Fire have been left by employees working as Firefighter/EMT , Fire Fighter Ff1 Seasonal and Fire Apparatus Engineer .

Does CAL Fire pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, CAL Fire employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.8 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at CAL Fire. This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at CAL Fire?

67% of CAL Fire employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated CAL Fire 3.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.6 for culture and values and 4.0 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at CAL Fire?

Firefighter (30) , Firefighter/EMT (29) , Fire Captain (14) , Fire Apparatus Engineer (10) , Fire Fighter Ff1 Seasonal (10) , Firefighter/Paramedic (7) , Firefighter I (6) , Wildland Firefighter (5) , Associate Governmental Program Analyst (AGPA) (4) , Seasonal Firefighter I (4) , Analyst (3) , Communications Operator (3) , Staff Services Analyst (3) , Accountant (2) , Accountant Trainee (2)

What are the pros of working at CAL Fire according to real employee reviews?

"It’s the state so benefits are good" ((in 17 reviews)); "Helping the community and being surrounded by great people." ((in 10 reviews)); "Great opportunities to serve the public." ((in 5 reviews)); "Extremely rewarding career." ((in 3 reviews)); "Lots of great training and excellent department" ((in 3 reviews))

What are the cons of working at CAL Fire according to real employee reviews?

"Low pay and excessive workweek schedule as compared to peer fire agencies." ((in 15 reviews)); "Long hours and encountering dangerous situations" ((in 15 reviews)); "Management is horrible." ((in 6 reviews)); "Lots of forced overtime." ((in 4 reviews)); "No work/life balance." ((in 3 reviews))

What are the top reviewed CAL Fire locations?

Sacramento , Riverside , San Diego , Fresno , Redding , Monterey , West Sacramento , Morgan Hill , Fortuna , Sonora , Auburn , Camino , El Dorado , El Dorado Hills , San Francisco , San Jose , Felton , Santa Cruz , Susanville , Mendocino , Tulare , Tucson , Cookeville , Lewiston , Yreka , California City , Feather Falls , Oroville , Alderpoint , Sanger

CAL Fire reviews

3.8

67% would recommend to a friend

(207 total reviews)

Joe Tyler

85% approve of CEO

63% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

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CAL Fire has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 207 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The CAL Fire employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government & Public Administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

207 reviews

2.0

Jul 23, 2021

Hours, hours hours

Fire captain

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits, vacation, and unlimited overtime (if you think that’s a benefit).

Cons

This job is detrimental to all personal relationships outside of work and at work it’s a toxic environment.

2.0

Sep 5, 2020

If the DMV was a Fire department...

Firefighter/paramedic

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benifits are good, they contribute 1750/month for medical, Good experience, busy, working hard and getting plenty of action, good coworkers

Cons

Forced OT and 72 hour workweek. 3 days on and 4 days off is alot of hours, but they are so short staffed you dont even get your 4 days off every week. Often there is forced OT with no advanced notice. They cant retain FF/paramedics so they are abused and overworked, 11 days straight is a normal occurrence during the summer.(thats at a municipal station running 911 calls all night) 2/10 people are burned out and dont care about their jobs or calls or anything just there running out time to get a pension.

5.0

Mar 12, 2018

Communications Operator

Communications operator/911 dispatcher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Helping people when they are at their worst. Being able to provide EMS services prior to the first responder's arrival.

Cons

12 shifts. Days, Nights, Weekends, Holidays, Birthdays. and Anniversaries. During busy times of the year, working 2 or 3 weeks in a row.

Viewing 19 - 21 of 207 Reviews

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