Warren opens firefighter recruitment with $68,803 starting pay and strict paramedic requirements

Warren is hiring firefighters now, and the window is narrow: applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, October 30, 2026.

The city has posted a starting salary of $68,803, rising to $102,658 after five years.

But the posting is a gate, not a ladder. It requires applicants to walk in already holding a Michigan Department of Health paramedic license and Firefighter I and II certification by the October 30 closing date — in hand before filing, not earned after hire.

Warren's Fire Department is led by Fire Commissioner Wilburt "Skip" McAdams and Fire Chief Orrin Ferguson; Mayor Lori M. Stone heads City Hall.

The gate

Recruitment runs through EMPCO. Candidates must create an EMPCO profile, complete the written exam by October 30, and score at least 70%; the written test counts for 70% of the total score, with an oral interview making up the remaining 30%.

The baseline minimums are familiar: at least 18 by the closing date, U.S. citizenship, a high-school diploma or GED, and a valid Michigan driver's license.

The credential gate is the harder threshold. Michigan paramedic licensure typically takes 12 to 18 months after EMT certification, or 18 to 30 months from the start of EMT training. Published estimates put Michigan paramedic education at roughly $8,000 to $15,000 in tuition, books, fees, and materials, plus an $80 paramedic license application fee and NREMT exam fees. Licensure requires passing the NREMT cognitive and psychomotor exams after completing an approved paramedic program.

Firefighter I and II certification in Michigan is administered by the Bureau of Fire Services through the Michigan Fire Fighters Training Council, based on NFPA 1001 standards, and requires passing council-approved written and practical exams — generally at 70% or higher.

State law offers another route: Michigan Act 291 allows a full-time firefighter to obtain Firefighter I and II within 12 months of being hired. Warren's posting instead demands both certifications before a single application is filed.

The wage and the work

May 2024 data put the annual median wage for Michigan paramedics at $50,320 and for Detroit–Warren–Dearborn paramedics at $50,870. Michigan's May 2024 statewide median annual wage for firefighters was $55,570.

Warren's posted $68,803 starting wage clears both medians. But the city is not hiring a firefighter or a paramedic — it is asking for one person who holds both credentials at once.

The department is built on firefighter-paramedics: paramedic engines, a paramedic quint, transporting paramedic squads, and an ALS heavy rescue, with seven ambulances and six ALS engines staffed around the clock.

The full pay scale reaches $102,658 after five years and a projected $110,549 by July 2029.

Who can file by October 30

Because the two credentials take 18 to 30 months and thousands of dollars to earn, no one who starts training now can file by October 30. The window is open only to candidates who already hold both.

Warren Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 1383, led by President Scott Halleck, reports 140 full-time members, 128 of them assigned to 24-hour shifts. The city's adopted fiscal 2025 budget lists 147 full-time Fire Department positions and 12 fire cadet positions. The adopted Fire Department budget is $39,844,495.

Halleck has cautioned that SAFER grant-funded positions could become vulnerable once the grant period ends if the city cannot sustain the added staffing. The union says minimum staffing levels are essential to public safety.

How to apply and who to ask

To apply, candidates create an EMPCO profile and submit the required documents: driver's license, high-school diploma or GED or transcripts, Social Security card, birth certificate or proof of citizenship, paramedic license, and Firefighter I and II certificates. A valid CPAT is not required to apply. Later stages include an oral-board interview, the Candidate Physical Ability Test, a background investigation, a physical exam with drug screening, and a psychological evaluation.

The City of Warren Human Resources office, Suite 410 at One City Square in Warren, 586-574-4670, handles application packets and job openings.

Residents with questions about whether requiring a Michigan paramedic license plus Firefighter I and II up front is serving the city or thinning its own applicant pool — and whether it prices out the very Warren residents the department is meant to serve — can raise them with Mayor Stone, Commissioner McAdams, Chief Ferguson, and President Halleck.