Fire captain vs battalion fire chief

The differences between fire captains and battalion fire chiefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a fire captain and a battalion fire chief. Additionally, a fire captain has an average salary of $66,742, which is higher than the $56,857 average annual salary of a battalion fire chief.

The top three skills for a fire captain include emergency response, EMT and fire suppression. The most important skills for a battalion fire chief are fire protection, EMS, and incident command.

Fire captain vs battalion fire chief overview

	Fire Captain	Battalion Fire Chief
Yearly salary	$66,742	$56,857
Hourly rate	$32.09	$27.34
Growth rate	4%	-
Number of jobs	5,885	16,088
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 45%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	8	8

Fire captain vs battalion fire chief salary

Fire captains and battalion fire chiefs have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Fire Captain	Battalion Fire Chief
Average salary	$66,742	$56,857
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $109,000	Between $36,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between fire captain and battalion fire chief education

There are a few differences between a fire captain and a battalion fire chief in terms of educational background:

	Fire Captain	Battalion Fire Chief
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 45%
Most common major	Fire Science And Protection	Fire Science And Protection
Most common college	Northwestern University	John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York

Fire captain vs battalion fire chief demographics

Here are the differences between fire captains' and battalion fire chiefs' demographics:

	Fire Captain	Battalion Fire Chief
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 93.8% Female, 6.2%	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 2.3% White, 76.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 2.3% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between fire captain and battalion fire chief duties and responsibilities

Fire captain example responsibilities.

Achieve a long time department goal by exceeding the NFPA and DPSST standards by recreating the fire district's training program.
Manage the combat logistics operations center's daily operations and ensure efficient information flow between internal and external organizations.
Certify as CPR and defibrillator instructor.
Fulfill a specialize function in the HAZMAT discipline.
Train local nationals and Americans on EVOC and CPR.
Establish incident command and mitigate all fire, medical, hazmat emergency scenes.

Battalion fire chief example responsibilities.

Manage the combat logistics operations center's daily operations and ensure efficient information flow between internal and external organizations.
Monitor communicable diseases to include tuberculosis, sexually transmit infections, and HIV.
Monitor communicable diseases to include tuberculosis, sexually transmit infections, and HIV.

Fire captain vs battalion fire chief skills

Common fire captain skills

Emergency Response, 8%
EMT, 6%
Fire Suppression, 5%
EMS, 5%
Fire Service, 5%
Medical Services, 4%

Common battalion fire chief skills

Fire Protection, 15%
EMS, 12%
Incident Command, 10%
Hazardous Materials, 9%
Emergency Incidents, 9%
Life Safety, 7%

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Fire Captain vs Battalion Fire Chief

Updated January 8, 2025

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