FREMONT — Ronald Chaney never imagined when he became a firefighter 18 years ago that he would make $167,579 in a year, but that's what the Fremont fire captain took home in 2006.

The tally made him only the 16th highest paid person in the department, where full-time firefighters averaged more than $135,000 last year.

That's a lot of money, but "it's all justified," said Chaney, speaking in his capacity as a board member of the firefighters union.

He said that unlike the days when firefighting was considered a blue-collar job with modest, blue-collar salaries, firefighters today often are trained emergency medical providers and hazardous materials specialists — in addition to being ready to rescue people from the banks of Alameda Creek or the summit of Mission Peak.

"It's a much different job than what it used to be," Chaney said. "It's still a blue-collar job, but no one in this department fits the old image of a guy who's just a fireman on a fire engine."

Another change to the profession is fire department staffing, Chaney said.

Cities find that it's cheaper to fill shift openings using overtime, rather than hiring more staff — a practice that most firefighters are happy with, he said.

"It's a very fair system," said Chaney, who raked in $53,148 in overtime last year.

And it's a system than can be both lucrative and time-consuming for firefighters who sign up for the extra shifts. Firefighters work a standard56-hour week before collecting overtime, Chaney said. But, between emergency responses, they are allowed to sleep during their work shifts.

"I don't think we feel it's too demanding," said Chaney, who didn't know of any injuries attributed to working a steady amount of overtime shifts.

In Fremont, Chaney said, there is ample opportunity to work overtime. Since July 4, there consistently has been someone on vacation or on a mutual aid assignment, he said.

Fremont taxpayers don't cover all his extra work, Chaney said. He recently earned overtime fighting the fire in Morgan Hill on a strike team that is funded with state money.

"We work a lot of hours, under arduous conditions, with back pain and little sleep," he said. "We may be making more money than what people are used to, but we're doing a whole lot more than what we used to do."

Staff writer Matthew Artz covers Fremont for The Argus. He can be reached at 510-353-7002 or martz@bayareanewsgroup.com.