Firefighters are paid on a scale based on current position, years of service and specialized training. Most firefighters make a base salary somewhere around an average $55K.
There are two ranks of unionized firefighters who make wages between 62-70K, Captains and Battalion Chiefs. These positions are responsible for incident management and day-to-day operational supervision of the firefighters, therefor make more.
There are also only 4 Captains and now 3 Battalion Chiefs, so they make up about 10% of the current fire department.
The cost of firefighter benefits varies based on the dependent coverage selected by the employee. The figures change each year, but generally range from less than 10K for a single firefighter, to around 20K for a firefighter with a spouse and children. Keep in mind that these costs are not determined by the firefighters, but by the city when it chooses which insurance carrier to provide coverage to the employees.
Also, firefighters pay a premium each paycheck for those benefits, somewhere around $40-100 per month depending on the coverage selected.
As far as retirement goes, firefighters contribute the equivalent of their social security tax obligation to the pension fund.
Firefighters are civil service employees who are not eligible to receive social security in retirement so the pension contributions essentially take the place of the social security obligation. At retirement firefighters receive an amount equal to 1/2 of the salary of the next highest rank, so a Lieutenant receives half a Captain’s pay, a Captain receives half a Battalion Chief and so on. It should be noted that the firefighter’s pension fund is solvent.
Firefighters work 48 hours each week. They are paid for 42. They receive no overtime unless called in while otherwise off duty.
This is a basic accounting of the information you were seeking. The employment contract for firefighters is a public record and available at city hall. I’d also recommend seeking out the same information as it relates to the city’s police department. You’ll find that city police officers are paid significantly more, receive considerable overtime, contribute less to their healthcare benefits and that there are more than four times as many of them. Yet not one city police officer has been targeted for layoff.
If this matter were truly about money, I believe that there would be a more equitable effort to trim costs across the board in all city departments. Instead, one department has born the brunt of city cutbacks, which has created considerable questions about that department’s capabilities to operate safely and effectively.
