City of Chicago / Chicago Fire Department / Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)
Job-title file
Respond to fires and emergencies, perform rescue and medical aid, and carry out prevention and inspection.
583 employees hold this title in Chicago Fire Department. Median total compensation for the role is $95,982, below the department median of $122,376.
What the records show
How total compensation varies among the 583 people in this role. Even for one job title, pay differs with seniority, step, overtime, and tenure. Each bar is a pay range; the far-right bar collects the highest earners.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Firefighters — about 14,560 people — is $82,820. Chicago Fire Department pays a median base salary of $117,996 for this role, 42% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Firefighters across every employer in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Chicago Fire Department’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Firefighters — about 345,990 people — is $59,280. Chicago Fire Department’s median base salary is 99% above that national figure, above the 90th 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN range relative to the national one.
Computed over the 2,191 of 2,194 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at Chicago Fire Department is $117,996, 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 jurisdictions
This role is reported in 2 jurisdictions. In City of Chicago, the median of $117,996 ranks #1 of 2. See Firefighter EMT across all of City of Chicago →
Median total compensation for comparable Firefighter EMTroles 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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Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Nathanael Pawletki serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Nicholas Percival holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Michael Perez is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Khary Phelps Jr serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Rickey Quevreaux serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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David Riordan works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. David earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Lucio Roa serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Sebastian Robles works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Sebastian earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Juan Salas works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Juan earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Dylan Shearer works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Dylan earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Clark Shimoda works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Clark earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Isaac Soto is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Johnny Vargas is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Jonathan Villa holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Gorgio Webb is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Wendell Young is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Brian Zia works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Brian earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Adiel Zuluaga holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Patrick Linane works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Patrick earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Bryan Sanchez serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Daniel Sanchez holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Gabriel Sanchez works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Gabriel earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Brendan Schnoor works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Brendan earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Felicia Serrano works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Felicia earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Cameron Smart holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Lucas Spencer is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Cormac Sutton is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Jovanni Tavares holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Joseph Ternes serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Anthony Townsend serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Jose Troche is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Joseph Turano works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Joseph earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Kaitlin Ulbert holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Daniel Vale holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Harold White holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Marchus White is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Derick Wojciechowski serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Andrew Lucas serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,816.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Ricardo Payan works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Ricardo earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Malakhi Rogers is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $90,816.