In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, what is Guy Montag's occupation?

In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is a firefighter. In the novel's society, firefighters burn books instead of extinguishing fires.

Montag begins the story as a committed worker in this state-supported system. He takes pride in the speed and spectacle of burning, but encounters with Clarisse McClellan and the consequences of his work make him question the official culture. His changing attitude drives the novel's central conflict.

The title refers to the commonly cited temperature at which book paper burns, although the exact ignition temperature of paper varies with conditions. Bradbury used the phrase as a memorable symbol of censorship and the destruction of stored knowledge.

The firefighters' role is not presented as a simple historical description of ordinary fire services. It is a fictional institution created to enforce a ban on books and suppress independent thought. Mechanical Hound technology further connects the fire service to surveillance and punishment.