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Average Fire Engineer Salary in United Kingdom for 2026

A fire engineer in United Kingdom earns about 63,000 GBP a year. That's 10% below the national average of 69,700 GBP.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in United Kingdom sit around 29,300 GBP a year, while the very top stretches to 99,900 GBP. Everything on this page is in British pound (GBP, symbol £), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in United Kingdom, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

To turn a gross salary in United Kingdom into a take-home figure, use our United Kingdom salary after tax calculator, which works the latest tax brackets and contributions through the math for you.

How much does a fire engineer make in United Kingdom?

Average salary
63,000 GBP
5,250 GBP per month
Lowest reported
29,300 GBP
2,441 GBP per month
Highest reported
99,900 GBP
8,325 GBP per month

A typical fire engineer working in United Kingdom brings home around 5,250 GBP a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 29,300 GBP, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 99,900 GBP for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior fire engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around. For a cross-country comparison, see the fire engineer salary in Guernsey or Jersey, both of which pay in the same currency.

How fire engineer pay ranges in United Kingdom

A good way to think about salary in United Kingdom is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all fire engineers in United Kingdom earn less than 67,500 GBP a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 44,800 GBP (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 91,700 GBP (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of fire engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 29,300 GBP. The highest stretch to 99,900 GBP, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

29,300
Low
67,500
Median
99,900
High
44,800
25th
91,700
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in GBP

Fire engineer pay by experience in United Kingdom

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a fire engineer in United Kingdom, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical fire engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    34,100 GBP
  • 2-5 Years
    +32% from previous
    44,900 GBP
  • 5-10 Years
    +47% from previous
    66,000 GBP
  • 10-15 Years
    +21% from previous
    79,700 GBP
  • 15-20 Years
    +10% from previous
    87,300 GBP
  • 20+ Years
    +7% from previous
    93,100 GBP

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 47%. That is the point at which a fire engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Fire engineer pay by education in United Kingdom

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving fire engineer pay in United Kingdom. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average fire engineer salary in United Kingdom broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    36,700 GBP
  • Master's Degree
    +102% from previous
    74,100 GBP

Fire engineer gender pay gap in United Kingdom

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and United Kingdom is no exception. Male fire engineers in United Kingdom earn an average of 64,500 GBP a year, while female fire engineers earn around 59,800 GBP. That works out to a 8% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Fire Engineer gender pay gap

7%

Men earn this much more than women on average in United Kingdom.

Men 64,500 GBP
Women 59,800 GBP

Pay raises for a fire engineer in United Kingdom

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in United Kingdom sees a raise of about 12% every 15 months, which works out to roughly 10% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in United Kingdom, the national average raise is around 9% every 15 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in United Kingdom:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Fire engineer bonus rates in United Kingdom

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

36%

36% of fire engineers in United Kingdom reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a fire engineer a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary. The remaining 64% of fire engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in United Kingdom

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Fire engineer: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in United Kingdom is about 7% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

6%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in United Kingdom on average.

Public sector 72,700 GBP
Private sector 68,200 GBP

Fire engineer salary by city and region in United Kingdom

Fire engineer pay is not even across United Kingdom. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • England
  • Scotland
  • Manchester
  • Birmingham
  • Liverpool
  • Leeds
  • Nottingham
  • London
  • Edinburgh
  • Bristol
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
EnglandRegion127,700 GBP137,100 GBP56,600-199,700 GBP
ScotlandRegion90,900 GBP92,900 GBP45,000-141,000 GBP
ManchesterCity76,000 GBP74,900 GBP37,100-115,600 GBP
BirminghamCity75,000 GBP80,900 GBP35,300-117,100 GBP
LiverpoolCity74,500 GBP68,500 GBP39,400-112,700 GBP
LeedsCity73,800 GBP70,700 GBP37,900-114,900 GBP
NottinghamCity73,700 GBP74,500 GBP33,300-112,700 GBP
LondonCity73,200 GBP76,800 GBP33,300-116,400 GBP
EdinburghCity73,100 GBP74,000 GBP34,700-112,700 GBP
BristolCity72,700 GBP79,800 GBP34,000-116,400 GBP
SomersetCity72,300 GBP71,800 GBP38,000-114,600 GBP
SouthamptonCity70,100 GBP68,200 GBP34,000-107,300 GBP
WolverhamptonCity69,600 GBP74,300 GBP30,700-112,700 GBP
BelfastCity69,600 GBP76,600 GBP30,700-112,700 GBP
BrightonCity69,600 GBP66,200 GBP37,100-109,000 GBP
BradfordCity69,400 GBP69,200 GBP32,600-107,300 GBP
GlasgowCity69,200 GBP70,100 GBP35,400-109,700 GBP
LeicesterCity69,200 GBP73,300 GBP31,400-108,200 GBP
SheffieldCity69,100 GBP72,300 GBP31,800-109,700 GBP
NewcastleCity68,500 GBP66,900 GBP35,300-107,300 GBP
PlymouthCity68,200 GBP72,400 GBP35,300-109,000 GBP
SwanseaCity68,200 GBP65,800 GBP36,400-107,700 GBP
DerbyCity68,200 GBP65,800 GBP36,400-107,700 GBP
CoventryCity67,900 GBP68,100 GBP32,200-105,800 GBP
CardiffCity67,900 GBP64,600 GBP33,800-102,700 GBP
YorkCity67,800 GBP65,700 GBP30,700-102,700 GBP
Kingston upon HullCity67,600 GBP67,900 GBP32,600-102,700 GBP
LincolnCity67,400 GBP67,300 GBP32,900-105,200 GBP
NewportCity67,000 GBP68,500 GBP30,700-105,200 GBP
DundeeCity66,400 GBP71,400 GBP29,100-107,300 GBP
PeterboroughCity64,900 GBP69,700 GBP27,300-100,700 GBP
PooleCity64,900 GBP59,800 GBP32,200-97,400 GBP
AberdeenCity64,600 GBP63,100 GBP35,500-97,600 GBP
GloucesterCity64,300 GBP62,600 GBP33,300-95,900 GBP
OxfordCity63,500 GBP63,000 GBP33,500-98,900 GBP
ArmaghCity63,000 GBP61,400 GBP30,700-95,000 GBP
PortsmouthCity62,600 GBP68,100 GBP30,800-100,700 GBP
DerryCity62,500 GBP63,000 GBP30,800-95,000 GBP
NorwichCity62,500 GBP65,800 GBP29,000-98,800 GBP
NewryCity61,400 GBP66,100 GBP27,700-99,700 GBP
WalesRegion60,900 GBP58,100 GBP30,000-92,300 GBP
DurhamCity60,900 GBP65,500 GBP26,200-92,600 GBP
InvernessCity60,700 GBP64,200 GBP26,500-94,300 GBP
StirlingCity60,500 GBP57,200 GBP31,400-90,300 GBP
ChesterCity60,200 GBP63,500 GBP26,100-94,000 GBP
ExeterCity60,200 GBP59,900 GBP29,300-95,300 GBP
HartlepoolCity60,200 GBP63,500 GBP27,400-94,000 GBP
CambridgeCity60,000 GBP63,200 GBP29,300-95,300 GBP
CanterburyCity60,000 GBP56,900 GBP30,200-92,100 GBP
SalisburyCity59,800 GBP57,000 GBP29,600-88,300 GBP
WinchesterCity58,500 GBP54,900 GBP29,100-87,900 GBP
Northern IrelandRegion58,200 GBP55,600 GBP30,100-87,400 GBP
AbingdonCity58,200 GBP58,600 GBP26,100-89,300 GBP
RiponCity58,200 GBP61,400 GBP29,300-90,900 GBP
TruroCity57,900 GBP55,100 GBP31,300-88,600 GBP
BangorCity57,800 GBP58,600 GBP26,100-88,400 GBP
StromnessCity57,800 GBP61,800 GBP25,800-92,100 GBP
LisburnCity57,200 GBP55,700 GBP29,200-88,300 GBP
KirkwallCity57,100 GBP58,700 GBP27,400-89,800 GBP
WakefieldCity56,400 GBP63,100 GBP27,300-92,400 GBP
WellsCity56,400 GBP59,800 GBP29,000-88,300 GBP
St DavidsCity55,700 GBP54,200 GBP27,100-84,600 GBP
StrontianCity54,100 GBP55,200 GBP27,300-83,900 GBP

Fire Engineer in United Kingdom: FAQs

  • How much does a fire engineer make per month in United Kingdom?

    A fire engineer in United Kingdom earns about 5,250 GBP a month before tax, based on an annual average of 63,000 GBP.

  • What's the salary range for a fire engineer in United Kingdom?

    Entry-level fire engineers in United Kingdom start near 29,300 GBP. Top-end pay reaches around 99,900 GBP. The middle 50% of earners sit between 44,800 and 91,700 GBP.

  • Is the median fire engineer salary in United Kingdom higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 67,500 GBP, higher than the average of 63,000 GBP. Half of fire engineers in United Kingdom earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for fire engineers in United Kingdom?

    Men working as a fire engineer in United Kingdom earn around 8% more than women on average (64,500 vs 59,800 GBP a year).

  • Do fire engineers in United Kingdom get bonuses?

    About 36% of fire engineers in United Kingdom reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary.

  • Do fire engineers earn more in the public or private sector in United Kingdom?

    In United Kingdom, the public sector pays a fire engineer about 7% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do fire engineers in United Kingdom get a pay raise?

    A fire engineer in United Kingdom sees a raise of around 12% every 15 months, equivalent to roughly 10% a year.