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
Source-specific fields
Francesco La Porte works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Francesco earned $74,526 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Kevin Roman is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
Source-specific fields
Luis Salas is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Kevin Sanetra works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Kevin earned $74,526 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Brittany Schmit is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, James Solis serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Alexander Strzalka works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Alexander earned $74,526 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
Source-specific fields
Brian Timmreck works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Brian earned $74,526 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Edwin Torres works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Edwin earned $74,526 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Michael Vailahi works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Michael earned $74,526 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Frederick Vaineo is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Maxwell Wesley is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Olivia Ybarra works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Olivia earned $74,526 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Matthew Hensler serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Sylvane Smart works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Sylvane earned $74,526 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Vincent Lujano serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Caleb Burrell serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Bridget Oswald serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Christian Orozco serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Nicholas Romo holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
Source-specific fields
At Chicago Fire Department, Lee Phan serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
Source-specific fields
At Chicago Fire Department, Christian Joya serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $74,526.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
Source-specific fields
Christopher Sandoval is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $74,526.