Firefighter Average Salary

The firefighter average salary in the US is in the range of USD 37, 000 per annum according to one source. The news according to another survey puts the range between USD 58, 000 and USD 91, 000 per annum for first line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers and between USD 46, 000 per annum and USD 71, 000 per annum for fire investigators and inspectors. But fire fighters often earn overtime for working extra shifts and also get benefits such as medical and liability insurance, vacation and sick leave, and paid holidays, protective clothing (helmets, boots, and coats) and breathing equipment, other than uniforms.

But then, firefighting career is not for those who have an eye on the firefighter average salary alone. It is a profession that requires tremendous courage, selfless spirit and community orientation. Other then battling fires and saving lives and properties, firefighters are almost always the first to arrive on any emergency – traffic accident or medical emergency. Needless to mention fire fighting involves hazardous conditions and long, irregular hours. From responding quickly to emergencies, assessing various types of fires and fighting them appropriately, reaching within the affected areas and rescuing lives and property treating injured people and reducing the extent of damage to property – firefighters remain at the disaster site for long periods, days at a time, working tirelessly.

Normally firefighters are employed by fire departments in the municipality or county and that is where one would seek to look for a firefighter’s job. But their area of work may be anywhere - in urban or rural areas, industrial and residential, forest or oil spills, and even sensitive sites like airports etc. So you may become a forest fire investigator, a fire inspector (approving plans for new buildings) or even a fire investigator (investigating origin and cause of fires).

To be a firefighter you must turn at least 18 years of age, with a high school education, pass written, physical, and medical examinations. Many fire departments have accredited apprenticeship programs that are about 4 years long covering subjects such as fire fighting techniques and equipment, chemical hazards associated with various combustible building materials, emergency medical procedures, and fire prevention and safety.

As a firefighters be prepared to work more than 50 hours a week and sometimes, even longer. For this sort of a job you would do well to carry qualities such as mental alertness, courage, mechanical aptitude, endurance, strength, and a sense of public service.