By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer Many U.S. fire and EMS organizations continue to use some variation of the 24-hour shift to provide around-the-clock staffing. For decades, these schedules have been popular among employees because they offer extended time off and flexibility for family life, commuting, and secondary employment. However, growing research on fatigue and sleep deprivation is causing both ...
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During the Question-and-Answer segment following the presentation, one of the first questions posed to me was “Why do firefighter keep working 24-hour shifts?” The second question was “Why would firefighters want to work a 48-hour shift?” The latter question was prompted by the segment of my presentation that described the 48-hours on, 96-hours off, schedule that some fire departments have adopted. And I did not have a satisfactory answer for either question.
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By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer Did you know? Half of residential fire deaths result from fires reported between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., yet only one in five residential fires (20%) were reported during these hours [1]. Those hours are also when many firefighters may not be on their “A-Game.” Why not? Because of sleep deprivation. Or because they’ve ...
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Fire & EMS Leader Pro The job of old firefighters is to teach young firefighters how to become old firefighters!