There seems to be some misunderstanding about firefighter pay compared to a traditional 40-hour-per-week job. Here are the facts.
Traditional job 40 hours per week:
Works 2086 hours per year
5 days on / 2 days off per week
No mandatory overtime
Reference salary of 20.00 per hour = 41,720 annual salary
Work one 8-hour OT shift at 20.00 per hour = 240.00
Firefighter 56 hours per week:
Works 2920 hours per year
2.33 shifts on / 4.67 days off per week
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates 3 hours of time and a half OT pay per week, which must be added to salary.
Reference salary of 20.00 per hour = 63,080 annual salary
Work one 24-hour OT shift at 20.00 per hour = 720.00
Comparing 20.00 per hour of a traditional 40-hour week, a firefighter makes 51.2% more or 30.23 per hour and has 4.67 days off per week compared to 2 days off of a conventional 40-hour per week job.