For the record, here are the pay scales:
Firefighters' Pay Scales 2003 (includes unresolved pay rise)
I'm not sure it is worthwhile comparing the job of police officer with that of firefighter (though the firefighters would happily have you do so). Police officers have a far more stressful, intellectually stretching and high tempo role.
This is what the Independent Review of the Fire Service (or Bain Report) said on the subject of pay comparability:
We commissioned two comparability studies, from Hay Group and DLA MCG Consulting, to inform our considerations. Hay Group compared pay for Fire Service roles with pay for jobs of similar weight elsewhere in the economy using their standard systems. They also compared Fire Service pay with public sector pay generally. DLA MCG Consulting undertook a tailored study and compared Fire Service roles and their pay with other public sector jobs, hazardous industry jobs, and other firefighting and control jobs. They also looked at some of the wider features affecting pay. Both studies were based on up-to-date role descriptions, and so took account of any changes in firefighter jobs since 1977/78.
The comparisons by Hay Group revealed that the basic pay of representative roles up to sub-officer and fire control officer was generous by comparison with other roles of similar weight both in the public sector and in industry and services as a whole. The Fire Service advantage was even greater when holiday and pension benefits were taken into account.
It indicates that the Fire Service employees are remunerated above the median for jobs of a similar size, and those at the upper end of the pay range are remunerated around or above the upper quartile.
Independent Review of the Fire Service
It is worth emphasizing that the type of job evaluation used in the Review (above) is the same as each job and specialisation in the armed forces undergoes every 5 years.