However, if this is not an issue, the 24-hour shift is very attractive for both employees and employers. 1018 Palm Drive, Honolulu HI 96814. A suggestion was made by one of the engineers, who was also an executive officer of International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 2164, to explore a flexible shift for those 12 individuals. So, back to the original question, what is the most efficient work schedule for the fire service? The 24-hour shift is also very popular with employees. Of course, the practice of “peak staffing” or staffing according to your needs is nothing new. Many industries use shift worker schedules or shift plans to manage workforce operations including restaurants and bars, hospitality, public service, manufacturing, supply chain, retail, medical, and more. The 24-hour shift provides you with employees who typically work between 46 and 50 hours per week with minimal shift exchanges while providing continuous coverage throughout the year. For example, firefighters who work a 24-hour shift followed by 48 hours off and receive a Kelly Day every seventh shift work a 48.46-hour work week. The submission deadline has been extended to March 12 for the 2020 Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor, Unit Citation Awards and Thomas Carr Community Service Awards. In an effort to alleviate any strain the new schedule may place on them or their families. In Ontario, Canada, fire departments have been moving toward the 24-hour shift at the urging of collective bargaining units. We discovered D-Shift personnel made every effort to work 48 hours followed by 96 hours off (48/96 schedule), as opposed to the Modified Berkeley model their counterparts on A-, B-, and C-Shift continued to work. As with any new program, its success rests on the personnel who complete their task. Telephone. In these situations, the less frequent shift exchanges occur, the less chance there is that a crew will be busy on scene of an emergency, which would delay and disrupt the shift exchange process. Members must work the required days per FSLA; they are allowed to work a maximum of 72 hours straight and generally must take 48 hours off prior to scheduling themselves for another work day. FLSA to law enforcement and fire protection personnel of State and local governments. The paper concludes with recommendations to improve or bolster these factors in an effort to keep these types of members. It is fairly easy to move the firefighters to other engines or apparatus, but what of the officers and engineers? Attracting and Retaining a Diverse Workforce. Below are 7 different one-week templates. The firefighters were easily assigned to other apparatus, and we initially used the six officers and six engineers in a roving or floating capacity throughout the district. The combination of the 24-hour shift and the 12-hour shift would result in having the same number of employees on duty with the same number of units in service during peak call times, while allowing you to reduce staffing slightly during your non-peak call times. In the case of a working structure fire, fire crews can be on scene for several hours, if not longer. The following is a partial list of Shift Rotation Schedules currently on file. All rights reserved. As a result, the 24-hour schedule provides fire departments with more hours of coverage per employee compared to the more traditional work week. We work a 4 week schedule. COVID-Related Stressors' Impact on Fire Service Members. You are one of the few FD's in the Northeast working the 56 hour week. 7 Most Common Types of Shift Work Schedule. © 2021 Endeavor Business Media, LLC. Other fire departments as well as other public safety organizations, such as police, 9-1-1 communications and those in the medical community, have the same requirement to provide services 24 hours a day but few, if any, utilize a 24-hour shift. Don’t Treat a Volunteer Fire Company Like a Business. This improvement in crew continuity supported the expansion of D-Shift to include paramedics and firefighters. The Kelly Day usually occurs every six to 10 shifts depending on the agreed upon and/or negotiated work week. Other agencies may use a series of 24 hours on and 24 hours off, with 72 or 96 hours off between cycles. The City of Casper, WY, Fire Department is accepting applications for a firefighter trainee. A personal shift calendar can be generated for any year after 1970. purpose clarification, your department members work 24-hour shifts. A new academic study offers some surprising preliminary results on how COVID-19 has impacted the managerial and operational sides of the fire service. Most of the Northeast averages a 42 hour week over the 8 week cycle, working 10/14/ 4 … On the organizational side, a significant downside of the 24-hour shift is the fact that staffing levels cannot be adjusted according to the workload. They work a Kelly schedule – three shifts on with a day off in between shifts followed by four days off in a row. The creation of D-Shift moved four people from A, B, and C, leaving 89 personnel on each of those shifts and 12 on the D-Shift. These units will be shut down during your non-peak call times. Although the total number of hours worked per week is actually more, the 24-hour shift described above results in an employee working approximately eight to 10 shifts per month. The Metro Fire Chiefs Association, a section of the IAFC, and the NFPA have selected a woman as chief of the year for the first time and named this year's lifetime achievement honoree. Recently, I was given an assignment to conduct a comprehensive review of various shift schedules and ultimately submit a proposal for one that was more efficient than our current 24-hour shift. Herdt has an MS degree in organizational leadership, a BS in public administration, and an AA in fire science. They would set their 24-hour staffing levels based on their needs during their non-peak call times and hire new employees to staff the additional units needed during their peak call times. The paper describes the factors that motivate on-call and part time members in combination fire departments. A-, B-, and C-Shifts originally had 93 personnel assigned to each. The 24-hour shift provides you with employees who typically work between 46 and 50 hours per week with minimal shift exchanges while providing continuous coverage throughout the year. Ex-OH Firefighter Indicted for Assaulting Chief at Station, Leadership Walks as Turmoil Rocks AL Fire Department, Former KY Firefighter Gets 25 Years for Child Porn, Fire Service Remembers NVFC CEO Heather Schafer, Judge Grants Motion to Dismiss MD Firefighters' Lawsuit, NFPA, Metro Chiefs Announce Chief of Year, Lifetime Achievement Honorees. We used fire perimeter data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Fire and Resource Assessment ... (RCP8.5) (figure S4). [2] The 2nd Engine 51 is a 1000gpm triple combination P-80 Ambassador model powered by a Cummins NH855 250hp naturally aspirated diesel engine driving through an Allison HT-70 power shift transmission. Individuals who felt they may potentially have a negative impact from that change were afforded the opportunity to move to D-Shift. The creation of D-Shift moved four people from A, B, and C, leaving 89 personnel on each of those shifts and 12 on the D-Shift. San Francisco Chief Considering Discrimination Lawsuit, Lawyers for Assistant Chief Nicol Juratovac are citing "a campaign of harassment and discrimination to punish her for taking on the 'good old boys' club within SFFD.". First 28 day cycle: Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Day 1 A - shift(1) 7am-7:30am 24.5Hrs. Very popular with fire departments and emergency services agencies, the Kelly shift pattern uses three teams (i.e. This scenario would probably be understood and accepted more readily as opposed to trying to implement the change retroactively with a municipality and department that are no longer growing. One reason for this is that, as a result of working 24 hours in a single shift, employees work fewer shifts throughout the month. Work Shifts Fire departments utilize a variety of shifts to maximize staffing coverage. Based on five years of historical data, we have determined that our peak call times are from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., seven days per week. We have also seen a reduction in overtime usage; unfortunately, I cannot provide a succinct quantitative analysis demonstrating the savings. The following information is an innovative and unique scheduling alternative which has proven beneficial for the South Metro Fire Rescue Authority (SMFRA). Another significant downside that should be considered is fatigue. Chief Wetzel, who came to EFD with no prior Emergency Services experience, earned his B.S. Wage and Hour Division (Revised March 2011) Fact Sheet #8: Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) This fact sheet provides general information concerning the application of the . For safety reasons, our staffing policy limits the number of personnel for those ranked positions across the district as well as by battalion; the D-Shift model aids in meeting this requirement. Why is that? 808-949-1566 Oahu 800-310-1566 Toll Free 808-952-6003 Fax. platoons) and three shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. Curt Varone's March 2021 "Fire Law" column certainly should make you think twice about snapping a pic at the scene of a fire or other emergency incident. You might want to set up multiple schedules if your business operates out of different physical locations/regions or you want to build separate schedules for different teams/departments. There are three different shifts – A, B, C. You are the Battalion Chief assigned to B-shift or BC-1B. It is actually a combination of both the 24-hour shift and the 12-hour shift. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. After the 5 day ‘tour’ is complete they will … This is where the 24-hour shift becomes inefficient. They are authorized to sleep in the fire station during the time spent on night shift. Prior to each FSLA period, D-Shift personnel, by group, gather either in person or by a conference call and select the days they would like to work based on those identified needs of the organization, configuring their schedules to match their personal needs. The current D-Shift roster includes 1 battalion chief, 2 captains, 5 lieutenants, 7 engineers, 7 paramedics, and 7 firefighters. At the most basic level, a schedule is a way to group employees. ... Could you add the schedule for Bergen fire department, Norway. In addition, the 24-hour shift provides employees who understand and accept that they are required to work every third day regardless of whether their shift falls on a weekend or holiday. The merger created a redundancy in service coverage; one community was being covered by two departments. The Chesterfield Fire Company's public information officer is facing charges for posting crash scene photos to Facebook that he allegedly took without permission. platoons) and three shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. The nature of public safety establishes a need to provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Very popular with fire departments and emergency services agencies, the Kelly shift pattern uses three teams (i.e. This created inefficiency, as quite often highly qualified personnel filled the role of an additional firefighter. When creating any work schedule, there are many different types of shift schedule to choose from. Some departments schedule firefighters to work eight or 12-hour shifts, but this is not the usual practice. Personnel on the 12-hour shift would be assigned to emergency vehicles that will operate only during your peak call times. They all share one common denominator—flexibility—although not everyone is comfortable living out of their vehicle. The 24-hour shift provides several benefits for the organization: infrequent shift exchanges, employees who can work more than 40 hours per week, and consistent coverage throughout the year, including weekends and holidays. Fire departments typically employ three shifts (ABC) to have firefighters on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Many of these resources are available online but not all. Another way the 24-hour shift benefits the organization is that it provides employees who can work in excess of 40 hours per week. One of the most common is 24 hours on and 48 hours off. Firefighter schedules vary by location. While the Arlington shift results in an average of ten work days per month, it is useful to note the accumulation of hours over a year for different work schedules: Figure 2: Impact of Weekly Work Hours: Regional Partners Shift Schedule While the 56-hour week was once the norm in the fire and EMS service, in recent years, other In essence, I was being asked, what is the most efficient work schedule for the fire service? Most departments split the 168-hour-long week between 3 or 4 work groups (sometimes referred to as 'shifts' or 'platoon groups'), resulting in a 56- or 42-hour workweek, respectively. It is practiced in most others aspects of local government, including public safety, and is even more prevalent in the private sector. The D-Shift: Creating an Alternative Scheduling Program. 24 hours at weekdays and 48 hours at weekends. The 12-hour shift described above equates to a 42.46-hour work week. Deadline for Valor Submissions Is This Friday. It is evident that there is no one schedule that works best. CA Fire Department Begins Discrimination Training. The exercise proved to be quite interesting and may shed some light on an interesting topic. Individuals assigned to D-Shift were also subject to those same FSLA requirements. The context of our staffing model at that time was the use of the Modified Berkley schedule for the A-, B-, and C-Shifts while adhering to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) requirement of working nine- to 24-hour days every 27-day cycle. The 12-hour shift also provides these benefits; however, in addition, it provides you with the ability to sc… To make one of these .ini files the default, download the file and save it with the filename "shiftcal.ini" in the application data directory. Long term absences are filled by D-Shift personnel rather than by temporary promotions, which invariably create a ripple effect across the shifts with the movement of personnel. All D-Shift members recognize and support the shift’s mission to “leave it better than you found it,” and to subscribe to the notion that they are much more than a substitute for that day. For inspiration and lessons in leadership, Michael Krebs says firefighters can learn from those who answered JFK’s challenge to land on the moon. Additional personnel may be scheduled in 8, This explains why employees who live greater distances away from their fire stations prefer 24-hour shifts. Fire Law: Digital Imagery—Glamorizing Our Role via Tragedy? Bob Herdt is a 33-year fire service veteran and a battalion chief for the South Metro Fire Rescue Authority, which serves an area of approximately 176 square miles in portions of Colorado’s Douglas and Arapahoe Counties. All collection materials on shifts and work schedules. Fire and emergency services: if you need assistance getting access to a copy of any of these materials, please contact the library at 301-447-1046. To accomplish this, many fire departments utilize a 24-hour shift. At that point, they would embrace the concept of utilizing a peak-staffing model prior to hiring additional employees for their 24-hour shift. As mentioned earlier, another commonly used work schedule in public safety and the medical community is the 12-hour shift. The FMLA rules provide an option for employers for variable schedules: Shift Schedules | Northwest Fire District – 12101 Firefighters Shift Calendar 2019 – 12105 Sometimes the common steps do not necessarily do the job. To some degree, the 12-hour shift provides the organization with the same benefits of the 24-hour shift, which includes having employees who work in excess of a 40-hour work week and employees that provide continuous coverage for weekends and holidays. Do they just become extras, roving and filling in vacancies as needed? Personnel retention, finances and community partnerships might be in jeopardy unless you consider each in the volunteer-oriented way they require. We are in our fourth year of using the D-Shift model, The most significant benefit has been the crew continuity afforded to each station on A-, B-, or C-Shift because the majority of the roving activity has been assumed by D-Shift personnel. Let’s dig into the answer by first addressing the 24-hour shift. Each of these has its pros and cons. VISION: This research paper prepared by Chief Silva of the Meridian Fire Department, Meridian, ID as part of his EFOP. This is the most known 8-hour schedule. In contrast, many utilize some form of a 12-hour shift. In other areas, it’s more common for firefighters to work 24 hours on, 48 hours off, or even 48 hours on, 96 hours off. SMFRA justified and supported the additional promoted officers and engineers with this type of alternative scheduling; these individuals constantly fill in at a position commensurate with their rank. The number and types of duties and shift requirements vary among the duties and the personnel. Fire Department - 3 platoon system - 24 2 / 472 shift pattern - 28 day schedule Working in excess of 24 hours with meal time deduction and one kelly-day every third 28 day cycle. So, back to the original question, what is the most efficient work schedule for the fire service? Minimum staffing for a given day is 78 personnel; dropping below that number resulted in an overtime situation. The 12-hour shift also provides these benefits; however, in addition, it provides you with the ability to schedule additional employees that are only necessary during your peak call times. We're looking for volunteer fire departments who are interested in sharing and comparing 2020 statistics. One model would be to schedule the majority of your personnel, approximately 75 percent, on a 24-hour shift and the remaining 25 percent on a 12-hour shift. Local 2164 had heard of a similar type program in use by the Colorado Springs (CO) Fire Department and thought it may relate to our situation. In terms of efficiency, the 12-hour shift provides organizations with the flexibility needed to adjust staffing levels based on peak and non-peak call times. From that conversation, the D-Shift was born at SMFRA. Specifically, we have determined that we receive almost 70 percent of our calls for service between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and the remaining 30 percent between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. In the case of a medical response, patient treatment and transportation can also be a lengthy process. By dividing the total hours by 3, you get an average of 56 hours per week (56 hours x 12 weeks = 672 hours of leave). Firehouse Seeks Volunteer Fire Department Statistics for Run Survey. U.S. Department of Labor . Our D-Shifters range in service time from four to more than 30 years. A D-Shift or a flexible shift will allow those individuals on all three traditional shifts to be used when they are actually needed. SMFRA maintains a spreadsheet indicating the known vacancies by position for the A-, B-, and C-Shifts based on vacation time, Workman’s Compensation vacancies, and any leave associated with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). SMFRA was created by the consolidation of the Parker (CO) Fire Protection District and South Metro Fire Rescue in Denver, Colorado, both career departments. All you need to do is supply any date that you have worked, as well as your shift type. It is actually a combination of both the 24-hour shift and the 12-hour shift. In many North American fire departments, firefighters work 24-hour shifts. Each shift consists of three battalions. Another reason why the 24-hour shift is popular with employees is because employees are usually afforded downtime while not training, responding to emergencies or conducting other fire department related duties. They elected to move to the D-shift for a variety of reasons including the need to accommodate reserve military commitments, flexibility with child care, a working spouse in the fire service, and an opportunity to see and work throughout the entire district including the busier and slower stations. However, qualitatively by observation, when we have a dozen or more D-Shift members working on one day and a minimal number the following day who avoid overtime on each day, potential savings have been identified. Another option is the 48-96 (48on 96off) shift schedule where firefighters work two straight 24-hour days then take 4 days … However, for the purpose of this discussion we will consider the 12-hour shift where the employee works four days on duty followed by four days off. It has the same number of personnel on duty during the non-peak call times as it does during the peak call times. Employee scheduling for fire departments and Fire/EMS companies varies depending on community needs. For the police officers who work a 10- or 12-hour shift, the same method outlined above may be used unless the hours vary significantly from week to week. We also continue to add different shift types to Fire Shifts and Fire Shifts-Pro. It is evident that there is no one schedule that works best. Many fire departments operate on the 24-48 (24 on 48 off) shift schedule where firefighters work as a team at the same fire station for an entire 24-hour shift then take two days off. Federal law allows firefighters to work up to 53 hours per week without requiring overtime pay. [4 on 3 off] [3 on 4 off] and [3 on 3 off] [4 on 4 off] The way this rotation works is a lot simpler than it … Email Contact [email protected] If they record their time during times they are at the station, it reflects positively on the department and the organization as they can show they have a crew in the station ready to respond quickly. This is a major benefit over the 24-hour shift and, hence, one of the reasons why it is popular with a variety of organizations. Originally developed by the large departments in California, the California swing shift is a slightly different take on the 24-hour schedule. In addition, when we do have the need to request mutual aid, it is also usually during our peak call times. The fire department took good care of the engine while it was in service. CT Fire Company PIO Charged for Facebook Post. Many fire departments operate on the 24-48 (24 on 48 off) shift schedule where firefighters work as a team at the same fire station for an entire 24-hour shift then take two days off. A zip file containing these .ini files appears at the bottom of the list. Some agencies that run a large number of structure fires are not able to use 24-hour shifts because of the amount of fatigue placed on the employees. Most fire-service organizations staff their rosters with a few extra people on each shift to accommodate scheduled and unscheduled leaves, thereby avoiding a constant overtime issue. In other words, there is no way to adjust the number of personnel on duty to correlate with the typical call volume experienced throughout a 24-hour period. (Even though we list what size the departments are, that does not mean a department larger/smaller cannot also be successful with the particular rotation) 2. We recently moved from the Modified Berkeley Schedule to the 48/96 model. Battalion Chief, Andy Wetzel joined the Elizabethton Fire Department in 1998 and was promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief in December 2018.Chief Wetzel had Previously served as Lieutenant since August of 2016. SMFRA encompasses approximately 180 square miles and provides fire and emergency medical services to approximately 200,000 citizens on the southern edge of Denver. John Picarello asks the question, "what is the most efficient work schedule for the fire service?". This totals 10 – 24-hour shifts … Interestingly enough, our historical data also indicates that we respond to the vast majority of our structure fires and experience a majority of our fire losses and on-the-job injuries during our peak call times. The ideal situation would be where a municipality and organization are currently experiencing significant development and growth. The Sacramento Fire Department in now requiring all personnel go through harassment and discrimination training after a black firefighter resigned over a hostile work environment. It consists of a 9-day cycle where each team works one 24-hour shift, followed by 24 hours off duty, works another 24-hour shift, followed by 24 hours off duty, then works a final 24-hour shift, followed by 4 consecutive days off duty. This means firefighters will be on duty for 24 hours at a time, every other day, for 5 days. Coverage is provided by 17 stations with approximately 280 uniformed line personnel distributed across the three traditional shifts of A-, B-, and C-Shift. In addition, it can result in some cost savings as a result of needing approximately 5 percent fewer employees during your non-peak call times. It is important that each organization review their own data to determine their peak and non-peak call times, but I am certain that many will have similar results. It consists of those roving 12 officers and engineers across A-, B-, and C-Shifts. For optimum deployment, two engines were eliminated. The officers all have tenure in their positions which includes two former training officers, all of whom are confident individuals and possess the ability to quickly read and lead the crew they are working with on that day or tour. Sharon McDonough makes the case for fire departments to pave the way for diverse membership via shining a light on success stories. Firefighter Schedules and Work Life A full-time firefighter works an average of 56 hours per week, but the work hours are divided into 24-hours shifts. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. However, based on the fact that “peak staffing” is not widely practiced in the fire service, implementing it may be difficult in established departments. Under the new schedule, firefighters would work three consecutive 12-hour shifts during the day, followed by one day off, then three consecutive 12-hour shifts at night, followed by three days off. Has your organization been faced with the closure of a fire station or a piece of apparatus which resulted in unassigned personnel? 'Shark Tank' Winner Donates $20K to Support First Responders. After 8 p.m., our call volume drops off significantly. The benefit of infrequent shift exchanges is a result of the significant amount of time required to handle emergency calls. Some firefighters work 10 to 14-hour day/night shifts for four days, followed by four days off. The program’s longevity is a testament to the personnel’s abilities and commitment; nine of the original 12 officers and engineers are still D-Shift members. Imagine using those extra people across all three shifts in a dynamic manner as opposed to the static manner they are used when they are assigned to each separate shift. Mailing Address. The same holds true for other types of emergencies, such as complex automobile extrications and hazardous material leaks and spills. There are many variations of the 24-hour shift, but for the purpose of this discussion, we will focus on a schedule where an employee works 24 hours on duty and gets 48 hours off along with a Kelly Day (a day off occurring at a prescribed interval required to keep an employee from working too many hours during a pay cycle). If you drop by your site start when working with log book formation without a intricate for every single different records. Fire departments typically employ three shifts (ABC) to have firefighters on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The paramedics and firefighters compliment each crew and officer they support each work day. There are several variations of the 12-hour shift. [5 on 2 off] The 5 days on, 2 days off rotating shift schedule can be set up a few different ways. If you would like to email us your schedule, we’d be happy to try to add your shift type for you in our next update. Photos: LAFD Crews Control Sun Valley Dwelling Fire, Video: Flaming Vehicle Rolls Downhill in AR, Oshkosh Airport Products Receive TRUE Zero Waste Gold Level Certification, Health and Wellness for Women in the Fire Service, PA Deputy Chief Dies After Suffering Heart Attack, Lead from the Front: Fireground Tactics and Leadership, IN Fire Captain Dies After Contracting COVID-19, Watertown (NY) Firefighter Injured in Training Dies, Five-Alarm Fire Burns Historic Building at Brockton (MA) Fairgrounds, Two Killed in CA Blast Caused by ‘Large Amount’ of Fireworks. This supports the notion that by not changing our current staffing levels during our peak call times when we typically receive almost 70 percent of our calls, we can still operate safely and effectively while reducing our staffing levels slightly during our non-peak call times. The engineers are extremely talented and capable with the variety of apparatus including engines, aerials, tenders, and specialty units throughout the district. … The ensuing placement of the affected personnel often presents unique opportunities and challenges.