Fire chief vs fire captain

The differences between fire chiefs and fire captains 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 chief and a fire captain. Additionally, a fire chief has an average salary of $69,961, which is higher than the $66,742 average annual salary of a fire captain.

The top three skills for a fire chief include fire protection, emergency response and public safety. The most important skills for a fire captain are emergency response, EMT, and fire suppression.

Fire chief vs fire captain overview

	Fire Chief	Fire Captain
Yearly salary	$69,961	$66,742
Hourly rate	$33.64	$32.09
Growth rate	6%	4%
Number of jobs	16,088	5,885
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 37%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	8	8

Fire chief vs fire captain salary

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

	Fire Chief	Fire Captain
Average salary	$69,961	$66,742
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $121,000	Between $40,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	CVR Energy	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between fire chief and fire captain education

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

	Fire Chief	Fire Captain
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 37%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Fire Science And Protection	Fire Science And Protection
Most common college	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	Northwestern University

Fire chief vs fire captain demographics

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

	Fire Chief	Fire Captain
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 94.2% Female, 5.8%	Male, 93.8% Female, 6.2%
Race ratio	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%	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%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between fire chief and fire captain duties and responsibilities

Fire chief example responsibilities.

Manage the combat logistics operations center's daily operations and ensure efficient information flow between internal and external organizations.
Determine appropriate control techniques and direct firefighting teams during numerous fire, hazardous material releases and medical emergencies.
Respond to fires, medical, HAZMAT, bombs and threat calls.
Maintain and inspect the SCBA equipment.
Conduct departmental assessments in accordance with DoD, standards.
Provide emergency medical care including first-aid and CPR to victims.

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 chief vs fire captain skills

Common fire chief skills

Fire Protection, 10%
Emergency Response, 8%
Public Safety, 8%
Fire Service, 5%
Fire Suppression, 5%
Emergency Services, 4%

Common fire captain skills

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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