What challenges might be presented by the 48-96 schedule?

For those departments that opted to try the 48-96 schedule, some members initially raised concerns prior to the start of the trial period. Typical issues and answers included:

• Personnel will be away from the family for 48 hours. According to a San Jose Firefighters report, one of the biggest concerns initially voiced by personnel was being away from home two days at a time. However, this same report found that for those who worked the 48-96 schedule, this concern was much less significant than originally thought. The majority found that the schedule, in fact, creates more family time overall, and other benefits such as more four-dayers, more “sleep in” days, and more full weekends off compensated for any other concerns.

• Members currently assigned to busy stations will work back to back shifts. However, 48- and 72-hour overtimes and shift trades are already common-place at such stations. And in many instances, simply rotating crews between the squad and engine, or engine and truck, could easily eliminate most concerns.

• Fatigue. The San Jose and San Mateo County Firefighters reports included extensive information on the issue of fatigue among personnel as it might relate to a 48-96 schedule. These reports differentiated between “short term fatigue,” defined as consecutive hours without significant sleep, versus “long term fatigue,” defined as the accumulation of fatigue that lasts over weeks or months. The report notes that personnel currently work 48 and 72 hour-long shifts (on a voluntary basis) without any significant issues regarding short-term fatigue. They further contend that the 48-96 schedule decreases long term fatigue, since it increases the number and frequency of 4-day off periods, increases the number of at-home “sleep in” days, and cuts in half the number of days spent commuting.(7) Finally, it should be noted that currently, Los Angeles County Fire Department can send a strike team crew on an out-of-county assignment for up to 7 days, and overhead personnel may be out for up to 14 days.