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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Salvatore Salvato is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Rodney Sardin serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Kevin Schmit serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Ivan Serna holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Darnell Shelton works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Darnell earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Brian Smith serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Marc Spurlock holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Brandon Starbeck holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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John Sugrue works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. John earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Matthew Sutkus holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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William Suwalski holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Adam Tapling holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Kevin Tippett holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Daniel Tucker serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Leonel Venegas serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Mizael Villegas holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Kevin Walsh is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Marcus Ward holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Joseph Wendling holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Nicolis Carrizales works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Nicolis earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Trent Yancy is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Javier Yepez holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Jacob Ziarko is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Daniel Henley serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Omar Cabral works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Omar earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Thomas Mcdonald works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Thomas earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Benjamin Gariti works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Benjamin earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Juan Padilla is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Jason Rodriguez works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Jason earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Michael Zaragoza serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Carlos Espinoza holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Harsimran Powar serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, Thomas Griffith serves as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit). They work full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Brian Gralak is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Jamal Daniels holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $100,950.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Jashuwa Turbe Muniz works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Jashuwa earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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John Kozaritz Iii works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. John earned $100,950 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Nathan Lambert holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $95,982.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Oscar Alcantar works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Oscar earned $95,982 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Justin Allen is a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $95,982.