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

Lawrence Whitaker

Firefighter 1St Year/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

$7,950

Sub-department: PS-Fire Engine Co.34
Base pay: $4,743
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $64
Benefits: $3,143
Total compensation: $7,950
Hire date: 2018-03-12
Union / bargaining unit: Fire

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 913330
Total Taxes: 63.66

Lawrence Whitaker works as a Firefighter 1St Year for Ps - Fire Bureau within Ps-Fire Engine Co.34. They have served since 2018 (about a year). Lawrence earned $7,950 in 2019. Their bargaining unit is Fire.

Jessica Shimp

Administrative Ass't-Fire/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

$7,566

Sub-department: PS-Fire Administration
Base pay: $7,028
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $538
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $7,566
Hire date: 2016-03-21
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Union

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 664870
Total Taxes: 537.67

Jessica Shimp holds the role of Administrative Ass't-Fire at Ps - Fire Bureau within Ps-Fire Administration. Their tenure dates to 2016, about 3 years. In 2019, their total compensation was $7,566. Their bargaining unit is Non-Union.

Michael Dugan

Firefighter 2Nd Year/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

$7,387

Sub-department: PS-Fire Engine Co.13
Base pay: $4,183
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $61
Benefits: $3,143
Total compensation: $7,387
Hire date: 2017-06-12
Union / bargaining unit: Fire

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 859948
Total Taxes: 60.65

At Ps - Fire Bureau, Michael Dugan serves as a Firefighter 2Nd Year within Ps-Fire Engine Co.13. They have served since 2017 (about 2 years). Their 2019 pay totaled $7,387. Union affiliation: Fire.

Stephen Mielcarek

Master Fire Fighter/Ps - Fire Bureau

2019 total comp

$7,168

Sub-department: PS-Fire Engine Co.26
Base pay: $5,000
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $73
Benefits: $2,096
Total compensation: $7,168
Hire date: 1997-09-22
Union / bargaining unit: Fire

Source-specific fields

Employment Status: Full-Time
Home Cost Center: 250000
Socrata Entity Number: 22940
Total Taxes: 72.5

At Ps - Fire Bureau, Stephen Mielcarek serves as a Master Fire Fighter within Ps-Fire Engine Co.26. They have served since 1997 (about 22 years). Their 2019 pay totaled $7,168. They are represented by Fire.