Fire captain vs fire fighter

The differences between fire captains and fire fighters 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 fire fighter. Additionally, a fire captain has an average salary of $66,742, which is higher than the $56,792 average annual salary of a fire fighter.

The top three skills for a fire captain include emergency response, EMT and fire suppression. The most important skills for a fire fighter are CPR, public safety, and non-emergency calls.

Fire captain vs fire fighter overview

	Fire Captain	Fire Fighter
Yearly salary	$66,742	$56,792
Hourly rate	$32.09	$27.30
Growth rate	4%	6%
Number of jobs	5,885	3,398
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	8	8

Fire captain vs fire fighter salary

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

	Fire Captain	Fire Fighter
Average salary	$66,742	$56,792
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $109,000	Between $35,000 And $89,000
Highest paying City	-	East Chicago, IN
Highest paying state	-	Indiana
Best paying company	-	1 8 3 Lanes
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between fire captain and fire fighter education

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

	Fire Captain	Fire Fighter
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Fire Science And Protection	Fire Science And Protection
Most common college	Northwestern University	-

Fire captain vs fire fighter demographics

Here are the differences between fire captains' and fire fighters' demographics:

	Fire Captain	Fire Fighter
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 93.8% Female, 6.2%	Male, 81.9% Female, 18.1%
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, 5.8% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 2.3% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between fire captain and fire fighter 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.

Fire fighter example responsibilities.

Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.
Administer medical care to injure people, providing CPR, first aid, as well as other emergency responses.
Task with testing SCBA, centrifugal pump systems, foam induction systems, structural gear inspections and HAZMAT equipment.
Cut and clear brush, dig trenches in order to create fire lines, using axes, chainsaws or shovels.
Maintain SCBA equipment and records.
Serve as paramedic on ALS transport ambulance.

Fire captain vs fire fighter skills

Common fire captain skills

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

Common fire fighter skills

CPR, 7%
Public Safety, 7%
Non-Emergency Calls, 6%
Fire Prevention, 5%
Fire Suppression, 4%
Hazmat, 4%