City of Buffalo / Fire Ladder 5 / Fire Captain
Job-title file
Respond to fires and emergencies, perform rescue and medical aid, and carry out prevention and inspection.
2 employees hold this title in Fire Ladder 5. Median total compensation for the role is $155,328, above the department median of $92,371.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY area, the median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers — about 300 people — is $99,260. Fire Ladder 5 pays a median base salary of $57,038 for this role, 43% below that figure — below the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers across every employer in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Fire Ladder 5’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers — about 99,140 people — is $93,530. Fire Ladder 5’s median base salary is 39% below that national figure, about the 13th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Fire Ladder 5 is $155,328, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
Fire Captain is held in 34 City of Buffalo departments. In Fire Ladder 5, the median of $155,328 ranks #16 of 34.
Median total compensation for the Fire Captain role in other City of Buffalodepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 19 jurisdictions. In City of Buffalo, the median of $144,755 ranks #9 of 19. See Fire Captain across all of City of Buffalo →
Median total compensation for comparable Fire Captainroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.
Record list
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Fire Captain/Fire Ladder 5
Source-specific fields
Daniel O'Leary holds the role of Fire Captain at Fire Ladder 5 within Public Safety. In 2025, their total compensation was $161,412.
Fire Captain/Fire Ladder 5
Source-specific fields
Peter Fantigrossi works as a Fire Captain for Fire Ladder 5 within Public Safety. Peter earned $149,244 in 2026.