24/48 firefighter schedule

The 24/48 schedule

On a 24/48 schedule you work a 24-hour shift, then have 48 hours off: one shift every third day. Three platoons (A, B and C shifts) take turns, so the station is staffed every day of the year. It averages 56 hours a week, about 2,920 hours a year, which is why many departments add Kelly days.

48/96, 24/72 and the California roll

• 48/96: two 24-hour shifts back to back, then four days off. Same 56-hour average, fewer trips to the station, and four days at home. It has become common in the western US.
• 24/72: one 24-hour shift, then three days off, with four platoons: 42 hours a week.
• California roll: on, off, on, off, on, then four days off: a 9-day cycle with three platoons, also 56 hours a week. Some sites call this a “Kelly schedule”; Wikipedia’s shift plan article uses Kelly for the extra day off described below.

Kelly days

A Kelly day is a scheduled day off in place of a regular shift, every so many shifts, to bring the average week down. With a Kelly day every 7th shift on a 24/48 schedule, each platoon works 6 shifts in 21 days instead of 7: 48 hours a week on average instead of 56. Type the number under Shift times and Kelly days; the calendar marks the Kelly days, and the .ics file adds them as all-day “Kelly day (off)” entries. Departments cover Kelly days with a relief platoon or by staggering them; check that your first Kelly day matches your department’s calendar.

Overtime for firefighters

Under section 7(k) of the US Fair Labor Standards Act, a public fire department can use a work period of 7 to 28 days instead of a 40-hour week. For a 28-day work period, overtime is due after 212 hours; shorter periods use the same proportion, for example 53 hours in a 7-day period (US Department of Labor Fact Sheet 8). A 24/48 platoon works 9 or 10 shifts in 28 days, 216 or 240 hours, so every 28-day period has 4 to 28 hours of scheduled overtime; Kelly days are often set to bring it to or under the limit. Contracts and state law can be more generous.

Add your shifts to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook

Press Add to calendar (.ics). It saves one file with every shift of the year for your crew, made on this device. Then:

• Google Calendar: on a computer, open Google Calendar, go to Settings, then Import & export, choose the file and the calendar to add it to. (The phone app can’t import files, but shows the shifts once they are imported.)
• iPhone or iPad: open the file from the Files app or an email and tap Add All. On a Mac, open it in Calendar or use File, Import.
• Outlook: in Outlook on the web choose Add calendar, Upload from file; in Outlook for Windows, File, Open & Export, Import/Export.

Tip: make a new, empty calendar called “Shifts” and import into that. If the rotation changes, delete that calendar and import a new file. Shift times are saved without a time zone, so a 7 AM shift shows at 7 AM on your phone wherever it is set, including across daylight-saving changes.