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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Raymundo Cuellar works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Raymundo earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Corey Dahmen 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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Calee Dineen 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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Michael Duggan works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Michael earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Eduardo Espinoza works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Eduardo earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Gianni Esposito works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Gianni earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Daniel Estrada 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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Felix Estrada 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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Ruben Flores works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Ruben earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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John Fox works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. John earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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At Chicago Fire Department, John Ganta 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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Ryan Gillespie 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, Luis Gomez 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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Jack Gorman 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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Brian Hernandez Guerrero 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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Nickolas Hill works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Nickolas earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Rachael Jolliff-Blake 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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Eric Jones 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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Dylan Keaty 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, Jonathan Ladowski 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, Giuseppe Lazzara 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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James Maibuecher 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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Nathaniel Martinez 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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Jesus Marulanda 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, Brandon Matusak 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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Anthony Mcguire 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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James Mcguire works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. James earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Vincent Medina 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, Ryan Negron 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 Neubauer 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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Michael Ortega 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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Daniel Paluch works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Daniel earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Giovanna Quagliato 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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Joseph Raffin 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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Axel Ramirez 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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Armand Richardson 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 Acevedo 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, Ian Acevedo 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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Luis Acevedo 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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Thomas Angsten holds the role of Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) at Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $90,816.