fire sprinkler technician

laborer

engineering team leader

test technician

crew member

Firecatt

Honestly, I should have ran from here after my interview yet I was desperate for a job and decided to ignore little red flags I noticed just from that initial meeting.  Such as how the office staff and management made jokes about the high turnover rate and how people are just "lazy" and no one wants to work anymore.  I do not blame people for leaving this company and I would suggest no one to work here until they make significant changes.  You will be overworked and underpaid, it is not worth it at all.  Plus each advancement in position only offers a $1 pay raise.  Let that sink in.

Where to start with this company.  They make the job sound easy and rewarding in the interview and how you get taken care of, but none of this is true.  The "hotels" they provide are actually questionable motels in the worst neighborhoods.  You are expected to pay for all your own meals on the road, do not believe them saying they provide an adequate lunch.  Some granola bars and an apple is not enough to sustain you while you are doing back-breaking work in the hot sun.  Plus the motels just offer stale gas station pickings, hardly a nutritious breakfast.  So that $20 dollar a day food allowance does not go far, so in reality you need to provide 3 meals for yourself everyday.

Also, hopefully you have money saved up because you will need it while you wait on your paychecks to start coming in.  Those expenses on the road add up quick, plus this company is taking money out of your paycheck for overpriced uniforms all well you are trying to survive when you first start out.

This company brags about how easy it is to test hoses efficiently and effectively.  Yet they do not believe in applying the same philosophy to the rest of the process.  Those "new muscles" this company says you will be using as you do this job are actually not muscles you wanna use at all if you want a healthy body.  The hard physical labor they put their people through will ruin your body so fast.  If only they truly valued their employees like they say they do and were able to find a way to make the work less labor intensive.  If only we had the technology that could do this, say like AUTOMATIC HOSE-REELERS.  Why this company does not have them on all the trailers is beyond me.  Actually it's not, I know exactly why.  This company will do anything to save a buck all at their laborers expense,

Saying all that, I would not recommend this company to my own worst enemy.  Please do not work here until they do a complete overhaul and actually start valuing their employees and seeing them as people.  Such a great idea for a company just absolutely ruined by improper management.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part is probably the travel and the team environment. You get to see different parts of the country and work with a tight-knit crew, which makes the long days a lot more enjoyable. There’s also a lot of independence once you know what you’re doing, and if you’re motivated, there are real opportunities to move up quickly.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part is the travel and long stretches on the road. You’re often working long days in different environments, and staying on schedule can be tough when things don’t go as planned. It can also be a lot balancing production expectations while constantly setting up and breaking down at new locations.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is pretty fast-paced and team-oriented. You’re working closely with the same group most of the time, so having a solid crew makes a big difference. Management expectations are performance-driven, so there’s a strong focus on production and efficiency.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day starts early with setting up a mobile test lab at the customer’s location. The team unloads equipment, calibrates the testing system, and begins hydrostatic testing on fire hoses and related life-safety equipment. Throughout the day, you’re running hoses through automated pressure testing, inspecting for failures, logging results digitally, and ensuring everything meets NFPA standards. It’s hands-on, fast-paced work that involves constant setup, breakdown, and coordination with your team to stay on schedule. Days usually wrap up with packing out the site, finalizing reports, and preparing for the next location.

At first glance the job description they preach sounds fun, interesting, growth potential, and ideal for people who like to travel while working. They preach about their values and how they live by them however that’s completely far from the truth. From the moment you start you being to realize it’s all just words. When you start you get little to no training the training is a video and off to a team expected to know what you are doing and learn on the job. Which doesn’t sound too bad until you realize you are expected to perform as if you were there for years. They expect you to complete a job within their production numbers and have no leniency no matter what issues you have on the job site or any other variables you have to deal with while working with first responders. “Just get it done” is their attitude and really just don’t care as long as they get paid. They will sell you on their core values which they don’t actually believe nor follow. From the office to the area managers communication is terrible at best, the way jobs are scheduled is horrendous you will have two different jobs to do in one day when they are hours apart from each other, they have signed contracts with their customers which they don’t hold them accountable to which ends up making the job harder for the employees actually onsite. Most of the people in the office are hypocrites preaching what they want from you but will not do the same in return. No one will admit to their own faults and mistakes you will be blamed for everything that goes wrong. Company will want you to drop whatever you are doing when called and don’t care about your personal life, let alone mental health all they care about is getting paid no matter the cost. They are hypocrites at its finest so if you can get past all that and more then this is the job for you!

If you’re looking for a chance to travel just because the office is selling it to you, please please please be aware of the cons that go with it:

- You will be charged on your first check for your uniform. You won’t have that check for the first two weeks on the road. You will need your own money, and plenty of it.

- There is no such thing as 3 meals. You fend for yourself. They offer $20 a day for which is maybe good for 1.5 meals. Other than that you get trail mix and granola bars for the whole day. You are told you will eat free breakfast at the hotel, but you will be at the jobsite before the cooks are awake.

- The work is very labor intensive. They don’t lie about that. The pay is very low for the work, given that testing firehose is required by law. You would expect more out of it. If not a pay raise, they need to lessen the load. These 5in hoses weigh 175lb per roll when rolled up. You are throwing these around for 11-13 hours a day. This company prides itself on efficiency but can’t figure out a way to automate reeling a hose, which is undoubtedly longer than the test.

- If you’re a new hire, be prepared to do a lot in a short time. Not only do you need to get used to 6 days of 11-13 hr days, you need to work as fast as your coworkers and do everything like they do. Except, you have zero training and they will actively instigate issues because you’re being slow. You’re also the lowest paid with the pay increasing $1 per level with a 6 month minimum needed to move up.

- You get zero time. They say you get to travel, but if you’re not working, you’re either getting ready to go to work or getting ready for bed. Your only time off will be Saturday evening and Sunday. 

This job will wear you out mentally if not physically. One of my coworkers had gotten 1/4 of his check paid to him on the day of and he called the office to argue with them for the entire day and did not work until he got paid, rightfully so. 

Told you will have 7 days off between loops when you only average most 4 days off and then back out on the road. They consider part of those days travel days back to the office. So ideally you may do 48-72 hr reset. Training is non existent besides PowerPoints 3hrs and then they ship you right out into the field to work.. if a team is down the day you are training best believe you are departing asap. They pay 30$ a day for a food budget but that isn’t always guaranteed because they don’t send it out on a constant time schedule. Hotels best be looking for bed bugs and roaches that’s what they put you in. They allow hourly people to drive if they pass the mvr yet they want a team lead to drive 10+ hours in a day so they don’t have to pay out. Team leads are salary positions, where hose techs and atl are hourly. Lunches are non existent and they limit what the team lead can buy for the crews now. Work 8-15hr days then have a 45min-1hr drive back to the hotel to repeat the the same job. Good luck keeping your one day off the entire loop of 2-5 weeks because they will fill that in or you have to make up work during that day. They tell you, you will travel everywhere. Ideally the teams have a set route they do a year. They also tell you that you will do fun activities.. when? On what days off? Most you get to do is drive pass places and window shop because you are rushing to the next job site. 

Not even two weeks in a guy there, who wasn’t the team leader or any position of authority, tried to fight me. I ended up telling the team leader and the team leader said “if he does it again I’ll send him home”, not even a full day later the same guy tried to fight another employee, and the team leader didn't send him home. Also this wasn’t a huge problem but everyone was always smoking weed while on the job, it just got annoying.The team provides you with a hotel at $2 an hour less, I asked if I could stay in the hotel for some time because I was having significant car troubles, while we were moving hotels they only booked one room so I didn’t have any way of getting to work. Also they fail to teach you anything about the job, I was  working there for 5 weeks and I only got to load the truck 2 times the whole time I was there because they complained that I was to slow when I have never done it before. They won’t teach you any of the hard stuff then on you performance evaluation they will complain that you are always looking for the easy job.

This company is growing very fast and will be a huge company within the next 5-10 years. If you put in the work now you'll rake in the benefits down the road. I will not sugar coat it, its very hard work and this isn't a normal job. Your going to work long hours in the heat and sometimes rain, don't get a lunch break, but in between test is plenty of time to get a break in and some food in your stomach. Your going to be away from your family for long periods of time, so if you have kids this is most likely not the job for you. But if you work your butt off and get along with the team and upper management you will get rewarded with trips and not to mention be able to see country and getting paid to do it, put with that you have to earn it with hard work. The team leaders are always encouraging and always make sure they're teaching you everything to be successful and help you move up in the company.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The travel, meeting people at the departments, working with people that have a common goal of being efficient and take pride in their work.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Being away from family for longer durations

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Helpful lead, management that works to help me progress and benefit as much as I can from the company and enjoy what we do wherever we do it while ensuring we have a solid home life when not out of state

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Gather at the truck in the morning fuel up and grab food get to the site meet the department, set up, roll out the hose from the first truck, start the test, finish test and reload the trucks, rinse and repeat with the occasional shooting the breeze in between tests with the department, hit the hotel get changed go explore, head back to the hotel and start again tomorrow.

Working at FireCatt feels like you are working with family... in a good way.  I always feel that my work is appreciated and know that we are all working towards the same goals; helping our traveling teams help fire departments. I am constantly learning and growing as a person at FireCatt. I work in the main office, so I do not travel. I know that we try to book the best lodging we can in areas that are close to fire departments. We have steadily increased our wages, per diems and offer healthcare so that people can support themselves and take care of their families. If you have any concerns or issues any of the management team is willing to assist.  The best part of working at FireCatt is the camaraderie, the laughter and teasing among all of the management and traveling teams. This company is like no other place that I have worked.

FireCATT is an outstanding place to work for those that want to travel the country and do something great for communities, namely fire departments.

Their management team is honest if you're honest with them. The company is all about promoting from within whenever possible. Management has stepped up a notch and the company is looking better than ever.

When teams hit their production the company rewards teams by paying for field trips and awesome adventures, ranging from white water rapid rides, fishing charters, air boats in the everglades, just to name a few. We also frequently get team dinners when teams hit production, all of which is paid by the company.

If you enjoy work that has a direct impact on communities and seeing the gratitude from the customers first-hand, along with the desire to travel, this is the job for you!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Fire sprinkler technician 12 salaries reported	$20.62 per hour
Laborer 9 salaries reported	$18.75 per hour
Engineering team leader 27 salaries reported	$53,426 per year
Test technician 3 salaries reported	$19.70 per hour
Crew member 79 salaries reported	$16.25 per hour

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