Fire Watch Salary in Virginia

$21/hr

Virginia construction laborer wage ranges give fire watches a broader benchmark for comparing offers and paid monitoring duties.

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What Fire Watches Earn in Virginia

Virginia construction laborer employee wages span $15.82–$27.46/hr, or $32,900–$57,110 a year. BLS measures Construction Laborers, SOC 47-2061, as a broader comparison benchmark, not fire-watch-only pay. These wages exclude premium pay and benefits. For a watch assignment, compare the offered range with the hours spent briefing, monitoring hot work and waiting through the required period after work ends. Get that full schedule in writing before accepting the offer.

Hourly rates by level in Virginia

What each rung of the trade is paid, before overtime and per diem.

Apprentice · 0–2 yrs
$15.82–$17.80/hr
▲ 8.33% from last year
Journeyman · 4–8 yrs
$17.80–$22.86/hr
▲ 8.33% from last year
Master · 8+ yrs
$22.86–$27.46/hr
▲ 8.33% from last year

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Where do you stand?

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$/ hr

Use your base rate, not what you take home after overtime.

You're right around the middle

$28.00 is above roughly 46% of this market. The top quarter starts at $36.00, and the median sits at $29.00.

10th
$18
25th
$23
Median
$29
75th
$36
90th
$45
YOU · $28.00
Your percentile
46th
Among this market
Your annual · 40 hrs
$58,240
Before overtime and per diem
Gap to median
−$2,080
Below the median

Calculate pay with extra credentials

Pick your level, add certifications, select shift — the estimate updates live.

1Your level

2Certifications you hold

3Shift & work type

4Overtime & per diem

Weekly overtime hours8 hrs
Per diem (per day away)$0

An estimate, not an offer. Overtime is paid at time and a half past forty hours.

American RecruitsEstimate
Journeyman Fire Watch
Virginia · Day Shift
Base rate$20.33
+ Baltimore-Washington Laborers / LIUNA Local 11 Apprenticeship (journeyperson)$2.31
+ OSHA 30-Hour Construction$0.65
+ NFPA Hot Work Safety Certificate (Fire Watch / NFPA 51B)$0.09
Effective hourly$23.38
Straight · 40 hrs$935
Overtime · 8 hrs @ 1.5×$281
Weekly gross$1,216
Annualised · 50 weeks
$60,788
8 OT hrs/week · Virginia

Who pays the most in Virginia

These national construction laborer comparisons cover building, road and staffing employers relevant to Virginia applicants. Ask each employer what its fire-watch assignment includes.

01 / 03$24.01/hr

Nonresidential Building Construction

Commercial building crews work around changing work areas. Ask who covers adjacent rooms during hot work and whether monitoring continues after other trades leave. Include the complete watch period when comparing offers for building projects in Virginia.

+ Building experience
+ Varied projects
– Changing locations
– Deadline pressure
02 / 03$24.08/hr

Highway and Bridge Construction

Road and bridge employers provide an infrastructure comparison. For hot-work watches, discuss access around traffic controls and the hours required for each work window. A short welding window still needs enough paid coverage to complete the required watch.

+ Infrastructure experience
+ Outdoor work
– Traffic exposure
– Weather disruption
03 / 03$17.44/hr

Employment Services

Staffing assignments bring another employer into the arrangement. Ask which company records monitoring hours, supplies equipment and explains the host site's fire-watch procedures before dispatch. Keep the agency's pay agreement with the host supervisor's assignment instructions.

+ Employer contacts
+ Assignment variety
– Changing hosts
– Variable schedules

Which states pay fire watch attendants the most

Median hourly across every state with a published guide for this trade. Cost of living is not netted out — compare take-home, not just the rate.

  1. 01California$28.98/hr
  2. 02Virginiathis page$20.94/hr

What each certification is worth

Sorted by payback speed.

CertificationRate bumpExtra / yearCostPayback
Baltimore-Washington Laborers / LIUNA Local 11 Apprenticeship (journeyperson)+$2.31$4,805$00 weeks
OSHA 30-Hour Construction+$0.65$1,352$1597 weeks
OSHA 10-Hour Construction+$0.22$458$597 weeks
NFPA Hot Work Safety Certificate (Fire Watch / NFPA 51B)+$0.09$187$4914 weeks
Permit-Required Confined Space Entrant/Attendant (8-hr)+$0.17$354$15924 weeks
American Red Cross Adult First Aid/CPR/AED+$0.08$166$10232 weeks

What overtime actually adds

Past forty hours the rate is time and a half. Built from the rate above. At $20.94/hr.

40 hr week
$838
No OT
50 hr week
$1,152
+$15,705/yr
60 hr week
$1,466
+$31,410/yr
70 hr week
$1,780
+$47,115/yr

Questions workers ask

Must I buy my own protective gear for fire-watch shifts?▾
No. VOSH adopts the federal construction rule making employers pay for required protective equipment, such as safety glasses and hard hats. Virginia's fire code separately requires an extinguisher rated at least 2-A:20-B:C within 30 feet of hot work.
Does required watching count after the welder leaves?▾
Yes. The post-work watch Virginia's fire code requires, lasting at least 30 minutes after hot work ends, is on-duty time for covered employees. Record the time you remain responsible for the area. Virginia's overtime law applies the federal standard for covered nonexempt employees.
Where can I raise a missing-pay issue?▾
Virginia DOLI accepts wage claims and handles overtime enforcement for wages earned from July 1, 2026. Its wage-payment page explains the complaint route and directs earlier overtime matters elsewhere.

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Current BLS Virginia employee wages for Construction Laborers, SOC 47-2061; a broader comparison benchmark, not fire-watch-only pay, excluding premium pay and benefits.

Last updated October 29, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.