Agency file

Ps - Fire Bureau

Source file: City of Pittsburgh — Employee Salaries (2017-2019) / ingested Jun 19, 2026

The Ps - Fire Bureau provides fire protection and emergency response, including prevention, inspection, rescue, and medical aid.

In 2019, this agency had 671 employees with median total compensation of $16,355; the highest distinct record was $52,035.

Year: 2019
Total payroll: $11.5M
Employees: 671
Median total: $16,355
Highest record: $52,035

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$0$32,373+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2019 total compensation is spread across the 671 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($16,355) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $14,626 (86%)
Overtime — $0 (0%)
Other — $197 (1%)
Benefits — $2,253 (13%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$11,113

$13,792

$16,355

$19,638

$24,554

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $24,554 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $11,113. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

295 · $15,512

112 · $19,193

84 · $18,451

52 · $22,346

31 · $10,889

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 3 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2017	$67.2M —	713 —	$95,899 —
2018	$68.5M ▲ 2.0%	701 ▼ 1.7%	$98,354 ▲ 2.6%
2019	$11.5M ▼ 83.3%	671 ▼ 4.3%	$16,355 ▼ 83.4%

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Thomas Larbig

Fire Captain/P/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

$1,048

Sub-department: Fire Chief & Ass't Chiefs
Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $1,048
Total compensation: $1,048
Hire date: 2008-08-18
Union / bargaining unit: Fire

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 43960
Total Taxes: 0

Thomas Larbig works as a Fire Captain/P for Ps - Fire Bureau within Fire Chief & Ass't Chiefs. Hired in 2008, they have about 11 years of service. Thomas earned $1,048 in 2019. Their bargaining unit is Fire.

Ronald Bartosh

Firefighter 4Th Year/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

$1,048

Sub-department: PS-Fire Engine Co.33
Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $1,048
Total compensation: $1,048
Hire date: 2005-09-28
Union / bargaining unit: Fire

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 44218
Total Taxes: 0

Ronald Bartosh is a Firefighter 4Th Year at Ps - Fire Bureau within Ps-Fire Engine Co.33. Their tenure dates to 2005, about 14 years. 2019 total compensation came to $1,048. They are represented by Fire.

Michael Cowden

Firefighter 4Th Year/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

$1,048

Sub-department: PS-Fire Engine Co.33
Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $1,048
Total compensation: $1,048
Hire date: 2006-06-05
Union / bargaining unit: Fire

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 44614
Total Taxes: 0

Michael Cowden holds the role of Firefighter 4Th Year at Ps - Fire Bureau within Ps-Fire Engine Co.33. They have served since 2006 (about 13 years). In 2019, their total compensation was $1,048. Their bargaining unit is Fire.

Stephanos Lignos

Firefighter 4Th Year/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

$1,048

Sub-department: PS-Fire Engine Co.30
Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $1,048
Total compensation: $1,048
Hire date: 2014-04-21
Union / bargaining unit: Fire

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 614544
Total Taxes: 0

Stephanos Lignos works as a Firefighter 4Th Year for Ps - Fire Bureau within Ps-Fire Engine Co.30. Hired in 2014, they have about 5 years of service. Stephanos earned $1,048 in 2019. Their bargaining unit is Fire.

Matthew Roell

Firefighter 4Th Year/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

Sub-department: PS-Fire Engine Co.17
Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $0
Hire date: 2014-04-21
Union / bargaining unit: Fire

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 614704
Total Taxes: 0

Matthew Roell is a Firefighter 4Th Year at Ps - Fire Bureau within Ps-Fire Engine Co.17. They have served since 2014 (about 5 years). 2019 total compensation came to $0. They are represented by Fire.