A career that is different every day; in service to others

•April 23, 2025•

by Denise Williamee

If you are looking for a new career or just starting on your career path, consider joining the Sullivan Fire Department, located in Sullivan, Illinois. It’s a stable, service-driven career path, with earnings that can support a family; each workday will be different, and you will have an opportunity to give back to the community. The starting salary for EMT Basic is $49,787.00, and EMT Paramedic certified at $56,872.00, with an additional $1,000.00 for Basic Operations Firefighter certification, and a generous benefits package. 

Despite the stereotype of firefighters only running into burning buildings, or saving kittens from trees, you will meet people on what could be the worst day of their life, and have an opportunity to mitigate that by making that day better through service and directing them to resources they may not have been aware of. As a paramedic, you will also be responsible for not just life-saving heroics, but important services such as patient transfers and other less publicized duties. The Sullivan Fire Department averages 16 to 17 hundred call-outs per year. Stereotypes aside, it’s an exciting and interesting career that many have found rewarding on multiple levels. Shifts are 24 hours on, 48 hours off, leaving plenty of time for family and other interests.

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