If I were to take a guess, I would say that your fire department is probably struggling with recruitment and retention. You’ve given your firefighters a record set of raises for their last contract, maybe even a retention or sign-on bonus to keep them committed to your organization.
Despite your best efforts and more money being available than ever before, your members are going elsewhere, and those long lines we saw in the early 2000s during your recruitment test have dwindled to a fifth of your old turnout. Firefighters certainly enjoy money, but this new generation doesn’t make decisions solely based on monetary values. For these reasons, I believe the 24/72 shift schedule should be implemented.
Firefighter recruits from this new generation prioritize their time at home with their families. Many of them do not work regular overtime and often take a pass at attending the union’s social events. They don’t necessarily view the fire service as an all-encompassing career; it is merely a job that makes ends meet.
Firefighting is a Tough Sell
The occupation of firefighting is a hard sell to our next generation. It becomes a harder sell the more they learn about the increased risk of occupational cancer, the behavioral health/suicide epidemic, and the lovely 56-hour workweek (not to mention the mandatory overtime where you may be away from your family for weeks at a time). This new generation has determined that extra money is not worth dying for at age 50.
Enter the 24/72 shift schedule. The 24/72 schedule brings a firefighter’s weekly average workweek down to 42 hours, much more in line with what the typical American works. Benefits of the 24/72 schedule for firefighters include the following:
- An extra day to recover from the previous shift.
- Three nights of uninterrupted sleep between shifts.
- More time to be present with family.
- Reduced job exposures.
Many fire chiefs or city administrators are going to want to pump the brakes on adopting a 24/72 schedule because three shifts in the fire department are barely affordable, let alone adding a fourth shift. That is a fair concern, but administrators need to realize that they aren’t going to have to pay for an entire new shift. The cost for a fourth platoon can be minimized through the following:
- No EDOs/Kelly days.
- Not having to use overtime to cover for EDOs/Kelly days.
- A decrease in sick leave abuse.
- A decrease in workers’ compensation claims.
24/72 Successes
Departments that have recently transitioned to the 24/72 schedule report that their current members are much happier with their working conditions. Their new recruitment testing numbers have also jumped dramatically since the schedule change was announced.
The 24/72 just makes sense. This schedule allows your members to optimize their health and be fully recovered before starting their next shift. Departments that have long workweeks or mandatory overtime are making themselves liable with physically and mentally exhausted firefighters. Exhausted firefighters are held accountable for the decisions they make in life-or-death situations (even when they haven’t slept for over 24 hours). The typical citizen works fewer hours than we do and will never experience the extreme pressure firefighters face. With the roles and responsibilities that we have, being well-rested will benefit us as well as the citizens we serve.
View this as a warning. Recruitment and retention are not going to get any better anytime soon. There is a limited number of solid recruits looking for a department to call home. If two departments offered the same pay and the same benefits but the schedules differed from a 56-hour workweek to a 42-hour workweek, which do you think that recruit is going to choose? As an administrator, you must see the writing on the wall.
I’d advise you to embrace this change in the hopes of increasing the number of recruits and creating a healthier environment for your current firefighters. I’m not a fortune teller, but I predict the departments that ignore this shift will have more difficulty recruiting and retaining their members as more departments adopt the 24/72 schedule.
Bio:
Jim Burneka is a recently retired FF/PM with the Dayton Ohio Fire Department. Jim was the inaugural wellness coordinator for the Dayton Fire Department and the health & safety/peer support coordinator for Dayton Firefighters Local 136. Jim has been involved in the fight against occupational cancer for over 18 years and is a cancer survivor. Jim is also a technical committee member on NFPA 1585 Contamination Control, and NFPA 1580 Standard for Emergency Responder Occupational Health & Wellness. Jim hosts two monthly webcast/podcast on Firefighter Nation. Jim Is also the co-author of the Amazon bestseller “Overcoming Tuesday: A First Responder’s Tale of Healing and Resiliency”. Jim serves on the PPE Reimagined and the WFI 5th edition committees with the IAFF. Jim lives in “Exotic” Beavercreek Ohio with his wife Lauren, and two boys Jameson, & Logan.
