Home › Rotating shifts › 24/72 schedule
24/72 schedule
One twenty-four hour tour, three days off — the four-platoon answer to firefighter fatigue.
- Shift length
- 24 hours
- Cycle
- 4 days
- Average week
- 42 hours
- Platoons
- 4
What the 24/72 schedule is
A crew works one twenty-four hour tour and then takes three full days off. Four days from start to repeat, and four platoons instead of the traditional three.
That fourth platoon is the whole story. Adding one drops the average week from around fifty-six hours to forty-two and turns every tour into a three-day recovery.
Departments that have made the move usually did it on fatigue and health grounds, and it costs money, which is why it is far from universal.
How the cycle runs
One four-day cycle for a single platoon:
24-hour tourDay off
What the extra platoon buys
On a 24/48 you work about ten tours a month. On a 24/72 you work seven or eight, and never work two days in the same week unless you pick up overtime.
The three-day break also changes what paid duty work looks like. There is room for a second job that does not compete with recovery, which is not true of a two-day turnaround.
Hours and overtime
One twenty-four hour tour every four days averages forty-two hours a week, against about fifty-six on a 24/48.
Fewer scheduled hours often means more overtime is available, so the hours you actually work can look very different from the roster — which is exactly why it is worth recording them.
Who works it
Twenty-four hour tours, spread across four platoons:
- Fire departments
- EMS and ambulance services
- Airport rescue and firefighting
- Industrial fire brigades
- Some remote-site emergency cover
- Hazmat teams
The trade-off
What works
- Three full days off after every tour
- About forty-two hours a week
- Far better for fatigue than 24/48
- Room for a second job or study
What hurts
- Needs a fourth platoon, so it costs more
- Fewer scheduled hours can mean less base pay
- Still a full twenty-four hours on duty
- A four-day cycle drifts through the week
Put it on your calendar
One day on, three days off, and a four-day cycle that never lines up with the week.
Save it once and the shift you are working in six weeks is already on the calendar.
Common questions
How many hours a week is 24/72?
About forty-two — one twenty-four hour tour every four days.
How is 24/72 different from 24/48?
An extra day off and an extra platoon. The 24/48 averages about fifty-six hours a week; the 24/72 averages about forty-two.
Why do departments switch to it?
Usually fatigue and health. Three days between tours gives real recovery, which two days does not.
Put the 24/72 schedule on your calendar
Save the 24/72 schedule once, tell BlueShifts the day your cycle starts, and the rest of the year draws itself. The paid duty jobs, the hours and the pay go on top of it.
Scan to install — or hold it up for the officer next to you.
