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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Andres Arenas 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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Emmanuel Benitez 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, Ethan Campagna 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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Sean Clemens 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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Gabriel Coco 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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Kevin Cummens 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 Dankowski 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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Patrick Deady 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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Roger Diaz works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Roger earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Matthew Durkin 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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Maria Flores 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, Muhammad Flowers 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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Axel Gallardo 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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Saul Garcia 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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Troy Garcia 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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Joshua Gist 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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Matthew 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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Matthew Grant 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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Oneal Gray works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Oneal earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Jean-Luc Gustaitis 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 Harvey 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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Robert Hernandez 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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Emilio Islas 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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Aaron Jeffries 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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Zachary Jenskovec 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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Shane Lundy 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 Mahoney 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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Dexter Malan 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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Steven Malopy works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Steven earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Brian Maples 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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Kevin Mcgrath works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Kevin earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Sean 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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Nicholas Mcmanamon works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Nicholas earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Thomas Mcvicker works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Thomas earned $90,816 in 2026.
Firefighter-Emt (Recruit)/Chicago Fire Department
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Christopher Mendoza 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, Joel Molina 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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Nia Moore 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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Alfonso Moreno 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, Jacob Naszke 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 O'Donnell works as a Firefighter-Emt (Recruit) for Chicago Fire Department. Their status is full-time. Ryan earned $90,816 in 2026.