Are City Firefighters Overpaid?

[downthepipe]

When it comes to total compensation, are municipal firefighters overpaid for the actual work being done?

This topic came up at dinner the other night when a family member talked about what seems to be automatic 10-20% compensation (pay and benefits) raises each time a negotiation happens.

But It’s a topic that almost can’t be discussed…nobody will say it out loud because society is conditioned.

What about here? Are you willing to stick your neck out and say it?

For the record I’m not saying it.

 

[Bubblehide]

No, they are not.

 

[Backofbeyond]

Considering all the bullshit they put up with, hell no.

 

[logan123]

$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

 

[realunlucky]

$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

Are you a policeman? Asking for a friend

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[PNWGATOR]

Really?

Walk a mile in their moccasins or for that matter in any first responder’s shoes.

Fire, EMS and law enforcement personnel all are subject to similar scrutiny when it comes fo pay.

 

[logan123]

Really?

Walk a mile in their moccasins or for that matter in any first responder’s shoes.

Fire, EMS and law enforcement personnel all are subject to similar scrutiny when it comes fo pay.

EMS makes like a buck or two over minimum wage if they work private

 

[Bubblehide]

EMS makes like a buck or two over minimum wage if they work private

The question was about "City"

 

[WeiserBucks]

When a house is on fire and the dept. responds and extinguishes the fire, no one complains about pay. When people see a dozen uniformed firefighters washing the engine in front of the fire house, they complain.

 

[307]

But It’s a topic that almost can’t be discussed…nobody will say it out loud because society is conditioned.


For the record I’m not saying it.

/end thread with a twist of irony

 

[PNWGATOR]

EMS makes like a buck or two over minimum wage if they work private

Fuk*d up for sure.

When you make more slinging fast food or at home goods or hobby lobby with a better schedule and better benefits and literally zero correlation of value provided to your communitiy.

100% Fuk*d up system.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Out of curiosity, is your family newly relocated to Idaho?

From California by chance?

 

[downthepipe]

Here’s a question - if wages dropped 40% would the force still be full? I think it might be.

The point about EMS earning crumbs compared to firefighters is a good one… are EMS underpaid or fire overpaid? Yeah it’s not the same job but the trauma can be similar.

Anyway I’ve never worked and will never work a job where any moment my life may be on the line but I just found my dinner table discussion interesting. Of course our city has union!!

 

[wnelson14]

I never understood the grocery shopping while on call or taking the biggest engine to the grocery store.

 

[Rifleman86]

The economy must be tanking again.

Every time the economy takes a shit, people lose their jobs, retirement savings tank, etc. all the sudden politicians and people without a clue come after public safety workers for some reason. “Why are these guys making so much just to sit around? Why do they still get a good pension when my company got rid of pensions decades ago!?”

First off the money I make on paper is far different than what I take home. For the first few years of my marriage my wife wondered how I made more than her but my paychecks were $500 less. It took awhile for her to grasp the amount of money that gets taken out to pay for that fancy retirement.

Secondly, firefighters don’t live that long. ****** up sleep, carcinogens, and a constraint level of stress/fatigue adds up. We have nearly 2x the cancer rate of the genera public. A lot of guys, for whatever reason drop dead a year or two after leaving the job. So much for that fancy pension and early retirement.

Finally, I’ll never be poor but I’ll never be rich. My airline pilot buddies flying for the majors? Those guys are pulling some coin these days. But the trade off is far less job security, no defined benefit retirement plan, and likely working until they are much older.

We all make choices, and life is full of trade offs.

 

[Rifleman86]

I never understood the grocery shopping while on call or taking the biggest engine to the grocery store.

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?

 

[Mountain_Life]

Fire/EMS/Law Enforcement jobs are worth as much as that municipality has to pay to fill the positions. They will always make less than they are worth but never less than it takes to fill the position or it won't work.

 

[wnelson14]

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?

I never said anything about not eating.
It Takes 20-30 minutes before a shift on the way in to get grocery’s.
Also especially with pick up and delivery services now a days seems like a no brainer as an option. leaving more time to focus on the job or rest before a call.

 

[alecvg]

I never understood the grocery shopping while on call or taking the biggest engine to the grocery store.

Generally paid departments buys their food for the shift they are on, all pitching in to pay. As far as bringing an engine, what would you expect they do if they get paged out? They need to be able to respond.

My opinion on the matter, hell no. With the stress, mandatory overtime, PTSD, high rate of divorce, strain on relationships, etc. it is a damn tough job, despite the fact parts of it are very fun for those inclined to the work. Keep in mind, most city firefighters are not paid the high wages of the west coast, which coincides with cost of living. Here where I am at in Helena, the starting pay is in the mid $20/hr.

And for the record, it is criminal what EMS gets paid, which makes sense, as nation wide EMS is severely understaffed.

 

[Rifleman86]

Here’s a question - if wages dropped 40% would the force still be full? I think it might be.

The point about EMS earning crumbs compared to firefighters is a good one… are EMS underpaid or fire overpaid? Yeah it’s not the same job but the trauma can be similar.

Anyway I’ve never worked and will never work a job where any moment my life may be on the line but I just found my dinner table discussion interesting. Of course our city has union!!

Also keep in mind, in probably 70% of the county the fire department provides 911 EMS services, and most of those provide the transport as well.

About 30-40% of the time I’m at work with the official job title or “firefighter” I’m actually riding in the back of a medic and working as a paramedic.

Most of the “EMS” you see riding around getting paid McDonald’s money is actually working for a private transport company shuttling stable patients between care facilities.

I always ask people, who do you want showing up when your 2 yo is choking, or wife is having a heart attack, the union firefighter/paramedic making over 100k who has the skills and education to be doing other things with his life, or the minimum wage EMT who doesn’t have any other options?

At the end of the day, “you get what you pay for” is true across all aspects of life.