Dang Brett, I think I need to move to The Woodlands, thats a great pay scale!! I sure wish we could get collective bargaining, we're still working on meet and confer .

 

well i think were going to be hiring quite a few new guys next year! come on down! preference is given to intermediate and paramedics though...since we run als pumpers!

brett

 

If I wasn't already a Apparatus Engineer, I might consider it. Guess I'd get some preference since Im a Paramedic. We also run ALS trucks, we just don't get paid near what ya'll do. Too bad you can't transfer between departments , I'd hate to start back at the bottom, that would suck!!

 

You guy's that have "engineer" as a rank, is the engineer a dedicated driver/operator, or do you rotate to different positions on the piece?

Tim

 

Here we are a dedicated driver. The only time Im not in the drivers seat is when the captain takes off and then I "step up" to captain. We get HCP or higher classification pay when that happens. Other than that, I hardly ever work anywhere else.

 

if you're a driver riding the seat here you don't get any extra pay. samething for me if my sergeant's off and i have to drive i don't see an extra dime, which i think is something that should be changed but no union here.

 

Yes, you definitely need a Union. If you are working in a higher classification, you should be getting paid for it.

 

we were union members long before i came on and some how it got ran off so the closest we can come to the union is the brotherhood of firefighters. its kinda screwed up cause today my captain is traveled to headquarters, so my sergeant is riding the seat and i'm driving and when we get our checks we won't see any extra money. you would think for a department of our size (152 paid personnel) they would cough up some extra money for that. they wouldn't have as many firefighters that don't want to drive.

 

I never heard of a seargeant rank in a fire department before, our ranking structure is like this, fire fighter (or private), lieutenant, captain, deputy chief, chief. Our deputies are the shift/fire ground commanders. Captains and lieutenants are assigned to a piece of apparatus, the senior most captain at each station is "the house captain" for that station. If my captain is off then one of us 3 ff's assigned to the piece will sit in the seat, we call it "acting out of grade", and yes we get extra pay for it.

We don't have an engineering rank, we all rotate to each position on the piece monthly, we do this on every piece of apparatus, one month you are the driver then the next month your on the back.


Tim

 

we are

ff
d/o
lt
capt
batt chief
dept chief
fire chief

oklahoma city has seargeants and some other things that i wasnt used to!

we get "ride-up" pay also...

brett

 

we have firefighter, corporal, sergeant (driver/operator), captain, batallion chief, deputy chief, big chief.
the corporal position was recently added so that we get some extra pay for backup driving. however i haven't been here long enough to go up for corporal so i don't get paid for driving. by this time next year i should be a corporal and there will be no @#$#%ing about backup driving. don't get me wrong i don't mind driving but at this stage in my career i would rather be on the back. if they'd throw a little money at me i wouldn't mind driving. haha

 

Just found this thread...I'm from Stamford, CT Local 786. Currently a Lt. assigned to Rescue Co. 1. Hope all is well with everyone. I'll post some pics when I get home later.

 

Welcome Jason!

Britt

 

This is our rank structure.

Firefighter
Fire Apparatus Engineer
Capt.
Batt. Chief
Assistant Chief(s)
Fire Chief

In between all of these ranks there are fire marshals, training, support, etc. but everyone on the job will be one of those ranks.

We have it set up that you can “act” in a position that is one level above your grade. So since I am off sick today, my Engineer can act in my position and my F.F. can act in his. Then they will just “rove” someone in to the F.F. position. The pay is set up to where you earn the base salary of the position that you are acting in. So if you are a F.F. acting in an Engineers position you will make the base Engineers pay.

The best thing we have set up right now is overtime. You are ranked on a list per shift according to the number of overtime hours that you have worked. This keeps it fair and allows everyone an opportunity to work overtime if wanted. A 24-hour shift is upwards of $1000 so it is pretty hard to turn down.

We have a minimum staffing of 3 personnel assigned to each apparatus in the city. That is going to change in the near future to 4 due to the “safer grant” coming out. We desperately need more manpower.

Britt

 

Here's our rank structure:
FF
Driver's are assigned by a seniority bidding process but there is no increase in pay
Lt.
Capt.
Dep. Chief
Asst. Chief
Chief of Dept.

4 men per rig...7 engines, 3 trucks, 1 heavy rescue, 1 shift commander (DC) w/ aide. Approx. 250 guys on the job.