As cities’ budgets tighten, some are considering bringing to an end the 24-hour firefighter shift, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal (http://bit.ly/IZpmoW).
The newspaper reports that a Washington, D.C., fire chief claims that tens of millions could be saved if firefighters worked more, but shorter, shifts. But, a Clark County (NV) official isn’t sure whether this method would save money. The article expands that money may be saved in cutting overtime, but that more firefighters may need to be hired.
Possible financial benefits aside, another factor is health and the importance of sleep. The newspaper cites the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs as having looked in-depth to the importance of sleep and the agency has stated that more research is needed and that, at this time, the 24-hour shift should not be changed.
An estimated 70 percent of all firefighters throughout the United States work some variation of the 24-hour shift, whose origins date back to the beginning of big-city firefighting when firefighters actually lived at the firehouse.
The newspaper details that in Clark County (NV), a policy change may be moot as the shift pattern is popular and would be part of a collective bargaining agreement with the firefighters union.
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