r/Firefighting • u/Obviouslythrowaway_- • 3d ago
General Discussion Fire vs Fire/EMS Departments
What has your experience been in either department? All I keep hearing is guys complain about how EMS departments are dreadful and miserable but get paid more. When, in my area I hear that the big City (fire only) gets paid the most and has the best benefits. Have I been lied to this whole time? Are there ANY benefits to EMS departments?
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u/the_falconator Professional Firefighter 3d ago
Like anything else your milage varies. My department isn't fire only but our EMS is a separate division, I only had to do a 6 month detail to the EMS division once, out of the better part of a decade. Our starting pay isn't the best (but also not the worst), but our top end pay is one of the better around. Around me there are departments that you have to spend years on an ambulance before getting enough seniority to get to an engine or ladder, some pay better some pay worse. We also have departments that are Fire only with no ambulances, some pay competitively some pay on the lower end. One of the benefits to being at a department that has ambulances is that I can volunteer for overtime in the EMS division, the departments that are solely fire with 3rd service EMS can't do that.