Are City Firefighters Overpaid?

[bmart2622]

I can tell you that even with all my extras of being a paramedic, company officer, tech rescue team and extra shifts....I dont make $80k

 

[Hnthrdr]

Being a first responder is tough work, no doubt. Whether paid or volunteer — paramedic, EMT, firefighter, law enforcement, etc — I have the utmost respect for anyone taking care of others during their time of need. As a former volunteer EMT myself and the son of parents with a combined 80 years or so of volunteer medial/firefighting, I know how hard this can be.

I have no issues with pay, but I do have issues with the shifts firefighters work. Outside of staffing emergencies, it makes no sense to pay someone for a 24-hour shift, let alone a 48-hour shift. Come on. I don't want to share the road with someone who has potentially been up all night, and I certainly don't want these people making critical medical decisions for me or my loved ones. No thanks.

Now, 8- or 12-hour shifts? That makes sense. Put in your time. Earn the big money that you deserve. Go home to your family and sleep. And then repeat the process with a sharp mind. Getting paid to sleep and regularly having a week or more off would be sweet, but I wouldn't want to do it. Too much emotional baggage from the horrific things these people see on a daily basis.

It’s tough since you would need to hire double the workforce or triple to split it up. Plus benefits, plus training, it could be done but I would be wildly more expensive. I work 24/48, so my work weeks work out to 48 hrs a week. Yes some nights are worse than others but it’s nice to have two days to recover, no one is allowed to work more than 2 shifts in a row. I came from the army so I love the schedule, but I had a friend come from corporate and it almost cost him his marriage. But it’s part of the job and culture and honestly one of the perks was the unconventional schedule.

 

[JFK]

Yes. And government jobs in deep red Utah pay much less in relation to cost of living than blue states. That’s a component too. Decades ago, I hired a guide who was a fireman in NM and he could pay another co-worker fireman to work his shifts while guiding. I’ve read where some firemen would work other, higher paying jobs for weeks at a time, while maintaining their benefits.

We can do shift trades. You work for me, I work for you type deal. No cost to the department, staffing is not impacted. It’s a non issue. I’m working one tomorrow

 

[Billinsd]

We can do shift trades. You work for me, I work for you type deal. No cost to the department, staffing is not impacted. It’s a non issue. I’m working one tomorrow

Right, however my guide paid his co-workers to cover his shift as did others in other agencies. They did not trade shifts, they paid others to cover their shifts and staffing was impacted and some hardly worked their shifts over the course of a year.

 

[BRTreedogs]

So basepay for firefighter is $99k

edit- some even down to $84k

Idk how you could even buy a home for 99k year gross in Bend if it was a single family house hold.

You would of had to buy 4 years ago.

If you were a new guy making $84k gross you would be a renter in a 1 bed barely making ends meat.

 

[bmart2622]

How was staffing impacted if all the shifts got covered?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Two different jobs. Nurses can, and often do, make more than FF’s here in Ca. Per diem nurses at some hospitals out here are making over $130/hr. I support nurses making good money. They earn it. They are two different jobs though, so I don’t really see it having any relevance to the conversation.

My wife is one of those nurses making about 130/hr. I fully support that.

 

[Braaap]

Right, however my guide paid his co-workers to cover his shift as did others in other agencies. They did not trade shifts, they paid others to cover their shifts and staffing was impacted and some hardly worked their shifts over the course of a year.

If he’s paying another fireman to work his shift then there is no impact to staffing. That shift is covered by another fireman. The only person out anything is the fireman that paid the other one to work his shift because he paid him out of his own pocket.

 

[Braaap]

Right, however my guide paid his co-workers to cover his shift as did others in other agencies. They did not trade shifts, they paid others to cover their shifts and staffing was impacted and some hardly worked their shifts over the course of a year.

If he’s paying another fireman to work his shift then there is no impact to staffing. That shift is covered by another fireman. The only person out anything is the fireman that paid the other one to work his shift because he paid him out of his own pocket.

 

[Douglasr]

A) We’re there for 24 or sometimes even 48 hours at a time. Are we supposed to not eat?

B) If we get a run while someone’s shopping, would you rather have us all be able to respond in the appropriate apparatus or be a man down because we send one dude to the store on his own?

Sometimes I’ll be on the road for 48-72hrs and believe it or not, I’ll pack my meals before I leave for the entire trip!
I’m amazing!

 

[Billinsd]

If he’s paying another fireman to work his shift then there is no impact to staffing. That shift is covered by another fireman. The only person out anything is the fireman that paid the other one to work his shift because he paid him out of his own pocket.

Right, I see my error, unless there are not enough firemen to cover the guys selling their shifts, I think, lol.

 

[bmart2622]

My wife is one of those nurses making about 130/hr. I fully support that.

Again, I do both jobs and I make more as a nurse but feel I should make the same or real close to it as a FF
That was meant for JFK and not for you, sorry about the quote

 

[Braaap]

Sometimes I’ll be on the road for 48-72hrs and believe it or not, I’ll pack my meals before I leave for the entire trip!
I’m amazing!

I really don’t understand why trips to the grocery store is a big deal for some folks. When we are at the store we are in service and available for calls. We aren’t any less on duty than if we’re at the station. My shifts starts at 8am and staffing isn’t completed until 7:30am sometimes. There is a lot of movement on a daily basis so it’s very difficult to plan meals ahead of time because you don’t know who will or won’t be on that apparatus that day until you arrive at work.

As has been said before driving to the store serves more than the simple purpose of getting groceries. We are constantly training new drivers and they need hours behind the wheel. Additionally we might have between 1-4 firefighters on that apparatus that day that don’t work in that district and want to familiarize themselves with it and identify certain hazards in the district.

 

[Douglasr]

My bil’s a firefighter.
He didn’t get our boat trailer hooked up to my dads pickup properly and they lost the sob on a1a in ft lauderdale last winter.

 

[Lawnboi]

Right, however my guide paid his co-workers to cover his shift as did others in other agencies. They did not trade shifts, they paid others to cover their shifts and staffing was impacted and some hardly worked their shifts over the course of a year.

That wouldn’t fly at my municipality.

But as mentioned above there are usually more ethical ways to get a decent chunk of time off. Of course this comes with time like most other jobs.

 

[svivian]

My bil’s a firefighter.
He didn’t get our boat trailer hooked up to my dads pickup properly and they lost the sob on a1a in ft lauderdale last winter.

Alright thats fair then lol

 

[Lawnboi]

It’s tough since you would need to hire double the workforce or triple to split it up. Plus benefits, plus training, it could be done but I would be wildly more expensive. I work 24/48, so my work weeks work out to 48 hrs a week. Yes some nights are worse than others but it’s nice to have two days to recover, no one is allowed to work more than 2 shifts in a row. I came from the army so I love the schedule, but I had a friend come from corporate and it almost cost him his marriage. But it’s part of the job and culture and honestly one of the perks was the unconventional schedule.

Not to mention municipalities are already not paying any overtime for a 56 hour work week.

 

[Douglasr]

My bil’s a firefighter.
He didn’t get our boat trailer hooked up to my dads pickup properly and they lost the sob on a1a in ft lauderdale last winter.

Luckily the boat wasn’t on it, or he wouldn’t be my bil anymore.

 

[Hnthrdr]

My bil’s a firefighter.
He didn’t get our boat trailer hooked up to my dads pickup properly and they lost the sob on a1a in ft lauderdale last winter.

So you’re saying your sister is going to be single soon? lol

 

[tjhester20]

$200k/yr to drink beer all day seems underpaid to me, especially when you consider that they’ll be forced to retire in 25 years with only 95% pension (on highest grossing years which include saved up vacation) with which to buy the beer

200k? Wheres that because I'm moving!