From: bguest@ateam.ems.cdc.com (Brandon Guest)
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
Subject: Re: Pay (was: Multiple Memberships)
Date: 14 Dec 92 19:24:40 GMT
Organization: Empros Systems International, a division of Control Data

In article <kaufman.724265852@Xenon.Stanford.EDU> kaufman@CS.Stanford.EDU writes:
>bguest@ateam.ems.cdc.com (Brandon Guest) writes:
>
>>2) Increased pay and pensions have made the extra membership very
>>attractive to the point that some firefighters can almost make a 
>>living off it (especially if they can pick up some additional 
>>responsibilities- e.g. training officer, hazmat coordinator, etc.)
>>I know of at least two other individuals who have dual membership
>>and in this case they are officers on both departments and one is
>>even a chief).
>
>Just how are firefighters in all-volunteer jusisdictions paid?  Here
>in California, with volunteer departments supporting paid stations, we
>get $10 per training, up to 2 per month.  Total.  No pensions, but we do
>have disability insurance paid by the county.  The $10 is a recent increase
>from $5.  You certainly couldn't retire on that...
>
>-- 
>Marc Kaufman (kaufman@CS.Stanford.EDU)

There are a variety of ways in which volunteer fire fighters are paid
in this area.  For starters, volunteers usually fall into two classes
here- the classic volunteer and the paid-on-call fire fighter.

The 'classic' volunteer is usually paid a stipend for fires, training,
etc.  This stipend tends to be in the $5-10/fire call or training
session.  No attention is paid to the amount of time spent (e.g.
$5/fire whether it takes 1 hour or 5 hours).

The 'paid-on-call' fire fighter is paid an hourly rate with some
minimum time specified for false alarms, etc.  At our department, the
hourly rate is $4.25/hour with a one hour minimum.  At some of the
larger depts near us, that rate can get up in the $8/hour range.  In
addition, officers, training coordinators, etc, may get an additional
'bump' for their administrative work.  We are presently budgeting for
$10/month for Lieutenants and up to $50/month for the Chief.
Neighboring depts start Lieutenants at $75/month and up to $200 for
Station Chiefs (their Chief is a full time spot at about $45,000.  They
also get reimbursed for training, etc.  Some departments also give a
bonus for additional training (e.g. $.50/hour for an EMT, $.25/hour for
FF3, etc.).

At my department, a 'typical' paycheck is about $150-200/quarter (for
fire calls and training); however, a person working at the neighboring
department who can respond to day fires and attends all trainings could
easily make $5-10,000 (especially if they are an officer).

Now comes the zinger though-  retirement pay.  Under Minnesota law, all
fire departments are allowed to set up special retirement plans through
what is called their Fire Department Relief Association.  This relief
association is funded through a 2% tax on fire insurance premiums (and
possibly charitable gambling proceeds).  Thus the more covered
property, the more 2% money that is available.  At our department we
have set our benefits at $500/year and are able to fund that for ~30
members.  So, for instance, with 17 years of service, I have accrued an
$8500 benefit which I can collect when I turn 50 years old.

Now comes the good part ...

For some of the larger neighboring departments they collect enough
money to pay up to $3000 per year of service (and sometimes more).
Thus a fire fighter with 20 years of service can collect a lump sum
payout of $60,000.  The City of Bloomington MN is the 2nd largest city
in the state and staffs thier department entirely with 'classic'
volunteers.  In addition to the state allowed $3,000/year, they are
paid money based on 'participation points' (e.g. the more fire calls,
etc, the more points you accumulate.  The more points, the more money
you get).  I have heard stories of some of their fire fighters getting
in excess of $80,000 as a lump sum payout.

Now before everyone gets to wound up about this system, there are some
problems which it introduces.  While it helps retain fire fighters, it
does so for both good and bad folks.  Initially, it keeps people around
until they vest (5-10 years for partial, 20 for full) but it also keeps
people around who you'd like to get rid of (people with something less
than 20 years but who want to hang around until they are fully
vested).  Also, there are a lot of other people (police, ambulance,
etc) who are envious of the 2% money and would like a piece of the
action.

So, the bottom line here is that for at least some departments in
Minnesota (first tier suburbs and the such), being a member can be
quite financially rewarding in the long run.

Brandon

-- 
H. Brandon Guest                | bguest@ems.cdc.com
Empros Systems International    | (A division of Something)
2300 Berkshire Lane North       | Voice (612) 553-4529
Plymouth, MN 55441-3694         | Fax   (612) 553-4018
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