A firefighter in Maryland brought home nearly half a million dollars after his department blew their overtime budget by $10 million.
A Montgomery County firefighter at Station 25 in Aspen Hill earned $472,000 in total compensation in 2025, according to the Baltimore Banner. That was made possible after they topped off their base salary of $157,000 with an extra $315,000 in overtime.
Corey Smedley, the fire chief of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, earned $255,000. Additionally, 20 other firefighters in the county earned more than $111,200 in overtime pay last year.
However, the extra thousands of dollars are not a one-off occurrence. The fire department has exceeded its overtime budget for the past decade. According to records provided to the safety committee, cited by the Banner, the department has blown the budget by millions since 2014. In that year, they exceeded their allotted $16.4 million in overtime by $1 million.
The county's 2026 budget is estimated at $11.7 million for the fiscal year. Firefighters begin receiving overtime pay after exceeding 48 hours of work.
Chief Smedley said that the highest overtime earners are the firefighters with the most experience, who are also certified in areas such as hazmat, bomb tech, and swift water rescue. 'Each of those specialties come with additional pay upgrades and is critical to the safety of our community,' Smedley said.
Higher-ups at the county said that exceeding the overtime is not their main concern. Council member Sidney Katz, who sits on the Public Safety Committee, said ensuring the department is properly staffed is their top priority. 'The bottom line, be there as quickly as possible with the proper resources to make certain people's lives are safe, because in many instances, seconds, not minutes, seconds — literally matter,' said Katz.
Smedley also noted that overtime costs are inevitable but noted that they are working to find a balance. 'We're trying to find the sweet spot, if you will, of where overtime makes the most sense, as opposed to having too much overtime,' said the chief. 'That's a delicate dance that we are constantly evaluating.'
However, according to Banner, Smedley said overtime is the 'cost of doing business.' The department has suggested moving nine firefighters from the Hillandale Volunteer Fire Department to other parts of the county to help reduce the overtime budget by nearly $2 million.
