The 48 hour shift

[domswen]

Is anyone here working the 48/96 shift schedule? If so, what efforts does your department make, if any, to make sure you get a minimum amount of sleep during that 48 hour period of time?

[BirkenVogt]

I work a 72/96 schedule. I usually try to get in bed by about 8:00 pm so that I can be interrupted at night and still be out of the rack at a decent hour in the morning. If we don't get enough sleep at night then we will take naps in the day.

Birken

[domswen]

I work a 72/96 schedule. I usually try to get in bed by about 8:00 pm so that I can be interrupted at night and still be out of the rack at a decent hour in the morning. If we don't get enough sleep at night then we will take naps in the day.

Birken

So, they let you sleep during the day if you didn't get enough sleep at night? That'd never work at my department, we always have training and other duties from 0800 to 1700, sleeping during the day is not allowed unless you want to nap during your lunch break. My concern is working a 48 hour shift where you might get very little if any sleep during that 48 hour period. Sounds pretty dangerous to me.

[CALFFBOU]

I have worked it before and wish my current FD would go it. Here is a website dedicated to the subject. And I can email you lots of documentation and Power Points on the subject.

Website- www.48-96.com

More info-

http://forums.firehouse.com/showthre...ighlight=48-96

http://forums.firehouse.com/showthre...ighlight=48-96

http://forums.firehouse.com/showthre...ighlight=48-96

http://forums.firehouse.com/showthre...ighlight=48-96

[domswen]

I agree it sounds like a great schedule, I'd love to have 96 off after every rotation, but I think the schedule would/should only work in fairly slow departments. We average 15-20 EMS runs per 24 hour shift. To think that we could get away with working personnel 48 hours straight with little to no sleep is pretty dangerous, in my opinion.

[CALFFBOU]

Hmmm....Over 64 departments in the NATION are using it. Some are busy ones too. Dom- You do realize that as a paid person, you get to sleep at night, right? I mean you do get up, but I dont think everyone is going to be up for 48 straight.

And as mentioned earlier, this schedule might not be right for the super busy FDs.

[domswen]

Yes, I realize I get to sleep at night, and I also realize that not everyone who works such a schedule is going to be up for 48 hours straight. It is my opinion, however, that if you have even one shift a month or even a year where your crew is up for 48 hours straight or close to it, you're flirting with disaster. Disaster not only for your patients, but for you and your coworkers as well. There's been a lot of legal opinions/recommendations coming out recently about whether we should even be working 24 hour shifts, let alone 48 hour shifts. Like you said, the 48-96 may not be for the very busy departments. I just hope the people who run such departments realize that.

[BirkenVogt]

So, they let you sleep during the day if you didn't get enough sleep at night? That'd never work at my department, we always have training and other duties from 0800 to 1700, sleeping during the day is not allowed unless you want to nap during your lunch break. My concern is working a 48 hour shift where you might get very little if any sleep during that 48 hour period. Sounds pretty dangerous to me.

I dunno, if anybody runs their arse off doing extra duties it is me, I am also the mechanic for the district and maintain the facilities, etc. And I don't just work 0800 to 1700 more like 0630 to 2000 with 20 minutes for lunch. But that's just me, I don't make anybody else do that unless they want to. We run about 750 calls a year out of my station mostly medical so whatever that works out per day. Also we have a transporting ambulance. I have not run into being really run down by calls. There are days that I can't get done everything I wanted but that always happens. And for what it's worth I don't even drink coffee.

No matter how bad it gets running medicals, vehicle accidents and structure and vehicle fire calls, I still get a lot of sleep compared to when I am running wildland calls where we have been known to be on the run for 24, even 48 hours or more with only short naps where we could get them.

The 72 is a drag more for its drain on the home life than its problem with the fire department. I have worked 8 or 10 days straight or with only one day off thrown in. I see no reason I could not have continued with that other than the dog was getting hungry and gnawing the legs off the table....

Birken

[CALFFBOU]

Yo...Penn Valley....not too far from my home base. Nice to see you in here again.