48/96 firefighter schedule

How the 48/96 schedule works

A 48/96 is two 24-hour shifts back to back, 48 hours on duty, followed by 96 hours (four full days) off. The cycle repeats every six days. Three platoons, A, B and C, start it two days apart, so exactly one platoon is on duty every day. Each platoon is on duty one day in three: about 122 shifts of 24 hours a year, roughly 2,920 hours, or 56 hours a week on average.

48/96 or 24/48?

Both rotations use three platoons and give the same 56-hour average week. They differ in how the time is grouped:

• Fewer trips to the station: about 61 a year on a 48/96 against about 122 on a 24/48, which matters most to firefighters who live far from their station.
• Longer time off: four days off in a row every cycle, instead of two.
• Longer time on duty: two days in a row can be hard at a busy station, so departments weigh their call volume and rest periods before switching.

Pick 24 on, 48 off in the calendar to compare your year on both; the 24/48 page covers that rotation and Kelly days in more detail.

Days off on a 48/96

Every six-day cycle has two duty days and four days off, so a platoon has about 243 days a year on which no shift of theirs starts. A shift that starts at 7 AM on your second duty day ends at 7 AM the next morning, which is the first of your four days off. Because six days is one day short of a week, each new cycle starts one weekday earlier than the last, so a full weekend off comes round every few weeks rather than on a fixed rhythm.

Overtime on a 48/96

Under the FLSA’s section 7(k) rule for fire protection, a department can use a work period of up to 28 days, with overtime due after 212 hours in 28 days (US Department of Labor Fact Sheet 8). A 48/96 platoon averages 224 hours in 28 days: 8, 9 or 10 shifts of 24 hours (192, 216 or 240 hours), depending on where the period starts. Most periods therefore include some scheduled overtime. A department that uses Kelly days removes one shift every so many to bring hours down; type the number under Shift times and Kelly days to see them on your calendar.

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.