Posted on 10/30/2007 12:05:35 AM PDT by freedomdefender
http://www.firehouse.com/magazine/surveys/04_pay.pdf
Firehouse Magazine 2004 Run and Salary Survey
Start Pay Top Pay
Firefighters:
1. Oakland, CA 68,615 79,899
2. Richmond, CA 68,133 89,973
3. Davis, CA 62,651 NA
4. San Antonio, TX 55,150 72,635
5. Glendale, CA 54,444 71,100
6. Lakewood, CO 52,837 59,177
7. Seattle, WA 48,588 60,732
8. LA County, CA 48,437 67,060
9. San Francisco, CA 48,360 67,730
10. Olympia, WA 47,553 59,440
Paramedics:
1. Oakland, CA 72,615 87,879
2. Richmond, CA NA NA
3. Davis, CA 62,651 NA
4. San Antonio, TX 75,791 78,854
5. Glendale, CA 58,800 76,788
6. Lakewood, CO 57,362 63,702
7. Seattle, WA 69,840 NA
8. LA County, CA 56,992 78,913
9. San Francisco, CA 56,888 69,160
10. Olympia, WA 53,496 65,383
A two year Fire Science Degree and an IFSAC Firefighter certification is a prerequisite for most professional Fire Departments in the State of California.
Staff with volunteers and minimal equipment (low taxes) you get a higher ISO rating along with high fire insurance rate.
There are no federal mandates in this respect. It is one of the few areas left where a local community still has control.
When you are having that heart attack, or you are trapped in your car, a collapsed building, or a burning warehouse, who do you want to come rescue you? The lowest paid, least trained person? Or will you want the educated, experienced, motivated professional with 15 to 20 years of experience?
You will get what you pay for. If you think our job pays so well, and is so easy, why aren’t you doing it? Look at other jobs with similar experience, education, and working hours, and you will see that firefighting is right in line with them.
I Have.
35 years in the fire service including time as a wildland firefighter, a full 20+year career in a big city department and 10 years as Chief of the department here in my hometown.
Believe me, I know the frustration of working for low pay as well as a public that doesn't seem to appreciate your work.
I also know the frustration of trying to provide the best service possible within the bound of what a community is willing to give up in the way of taxes. As a conservative, it is quite a tightrope to walk in your desire to keep taxes low while providing the service that your employers (the community) expects. The entire basis of the ISO rating system is to give the community the ability to decide (vote) how much fire service they want to pay for. Its called democracy.
Unfortunately, there will always be people (like a few of the posters on this thread) that want "The lowest paid, least trained person" and want it for free. They are also the ones that bitch the most when it takes a little longer to arrive on a call or their house burns due to a lack of personnel, adequate equipment or water supply.
Actually, in my experience the best department consists of a mix of the older, experienced members and the newbys that are full of book learning and keep the "more experienced" members honest. There is nothing worse that a bunch of burned out, unmotivated fossils on the same shift.
I see by your screen name that you are an EMT. From that alone you must be aware that the real rewards of our profession don't come in the form of a paycheck, but in the relief of pain and suffering, the comfort of victims families and the preservation of life and property.
I have found that the most successful people in the fire (and EMS) service are the ones that realize early in their career that this job is not about us, but in service to our community.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.