07/20/2023
What is the Fire Department’s shift work schedule and how much do they actually work?
It seems like firefighters have a lot of time off, but did you know that over five days a firefighter in works 72 hours!!!
Because firefighters work 24/7/365, we don’t refer to our work schedules in work weeks. Rather, we work “Tours”. A firefighter’s tour in Prince William County is:
24 hrs on, 24 hrs off, 24 hrs on, 24 hrs off, 24 hrs on, 96 hrs off
Over the 5 day working end of the tour, firefighters work an accumulated 72 hours. To further emphasize our point, while our fellow county employees work 40 hours Monday through Friday, your firefighters are spending an additional 32 hours protecting our community.
Valuable family moments, time with loved ones, and responsibilities outside the fire department are not the only things that suffer because of the schedule. Firefighter mental and physical health take a serious blow from this aggressive schedule.
Prince William Professional Firefighters are working to reduce the cumulative hours worked by firefighters and paramedics in Prince William County. We ask for your support as we navigate through our campaign to increase firefighter and community safety.
