Very hard to get hired, very good once you are. Pension, 24-hour shifts, six figures.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
First-class
$100,000
Probationary
$65,000
Captain
$128,000
Full-time municipal firefighters reach first-class in about 3 to 4 years. Job Bank's national median is about $95,000, and the top of its Ontario range is about $134,000; first-class rates at big-city departments such as Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver sit well above $100,000. Volunteer and paid-on-call firefighters in small towns earn a small stipend.
$65,000 to $80,000
Paid from day one at a full-time department
Pay rises in steps each year until first-class, starting at roughly 65 to 70% of the first-class rate.
$100,000 to $125,000
Base pay at large departments
Captains earn more, platoon chiefs more again. Overtime during staffing shortages is common.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is a one year pre-service firefighter program at a cheaper college plus the candidate testing, which covers the CPAT (Candidate Physical Ability Test), the written test and the medical. The high end is a more expensive program, the full testing fees, and the DZ class licence (the class for large trucks with air brakes) at about one thousand five hundred dollars. Unlike policing, most Canadian fire departments expect you to arrive already certified, so you pay for the training yourself rather than being paid to take it. NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 1001 and 1072 certification is usually included in the college program.
Unlike police, most fire departments expect you to arrive already certified. You pay for the training yourself.
Defined-benefit pension (OMERS, the Ontario municipal pension plan)
Full pension at 30 years or around age 55.
24-hour shifts
Typically 7 shifts a month, leaving many days off.
Health, dental, extended benefits
Presumptive cancer coverage
Workers' comp presumes certain cancers are job-related.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Get certified, get fit, then compete.
High school diploma
Grade 12
The minimum. Sciences and phys ed help.
NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) certification
1 year
Most candidates take a one-year pre-service firefighter program at a college (Seneca, Durham, Lambton, the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC), Lakeland in Alberta). It includes NFPA 1001 Firefighter I and II, 1072 hazmat and often DZ (heavy truck) licence training.
Medical and fitness certifications
Weeks
Emergency medical responder or higher, CPR, and the physical test (CPAT or similar).
Apply and compete
1 to 5 years
Departments hire in rounds. Thousands apply for a few dozen spots. Many candidates apply for 2 to 5 years before getting hired.
Recruit training and probation
About 1 year
Department academy of 8 to 16 weeks, then a probationary year.
Trades experience
Electricians, mechanics and carpenters are prized.
Paramedic or medical training
Most calls are medical, not fire.
Volunteer firefighting
Experience plus references.
Fitness
The physical test is hard and you are timed.
Ontario made NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) certification mandatory for all firefighters in 2022, with deadlines for existing staff. Other provinces use the same NFPA standards. Certification transfers between provinces through IFSAC (an international fire accreditation body) and Pro Board seals on your certificates.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Primary care paramedic diploma
The strongest single credential in a fire application.
A Red Seal trade
Departments love people who can fix things.
DZ or Class 3 (heavy truck) licence
Required to drive the truck at most departments.
Fire prevention or inspection certifications
A path off the truck later in your career.
Team sports
Departments look for people who work well in a crew.
Community volunteering
Swift-water, ice-rescue, rope-rescue courses
Show initiative.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
You live at the hall for 24 hours. Morning truck and equipment checks, training drills, station chores, then calls: medical emergencies make up most of them, followed by alarms, vehicle collisions, and actual fires. Between calls you eat, work out and train as a crew. Then you have three or four days off.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
At a typical Canadian department, only a small share of calls are actual fires. Medical calls, alarms and collisions make up the bulk.
Well over half of Canada's firefighters are volunteer or paid-on-call, serving small towns and rural areas.
When Toronto Fire opens applications, it receives thousands for a few dozen positions. Candidates often work another career for years while trying.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.