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Oak Ridge fire pay plan raises baseline, adds step for hazmat certification
Summary
The city presented a multi-tier firefighter pay structure that raises starting pay, adds intermediate steps for AEMT/paramedic progression and grants a retroactive 2% step for hazmat-certified firefighters starting July 1.
City staff and fire leadership presented a multi-tier pay plan for Oak Ridge Fire Department personnel that raises starting pay and creates new pay bands tied to certifications.
Under the proposal described by staff, the new baseline for a firefighter trainee attending the academy will start at $42,020.16 (a roughly 3.66% increase from the prior baseline). Firefighter 2 / EMT engineer baseline was presented as $49,008.96, a roughly 4.53% increase from the prior baseline. The plan introduces incentive steps for advanced EMT (AEMT) and paramedic certifications representing roughly 5% jumps between those bands, and higher relative increases for captain positions tied to the expectation that captains be AEMT certified.
The plan also requires hazmat certification for all firefighters going forward and provides an immediate, retroactive 2% step to current hazmat-certified staff effective July 1. Staff said that originally a staggered retroactive implementation had been discussed but the administration decided to apply the change at the start of the fiscal year so certified firefighters do not wait until their anniversary date to receive the step.
Council members asked whether overtime was included in the pay comparisons; staff said the presented percentages compared base salary only and did not include overtime multipliers.
