What is a Kelly schedule for firefighters and how does it work

The nine-day cycle

Written as a string, one platoon's cycle is X O X O X O O O O, where X is a 24-hour shift and O is a day off. The firefighter works days one, three and five, then has days six through nine off before the cycle starts again. Wikipedia's article on shift plans describes the same pattern as 24 hours on, 24 off, 24 on, 24 off, 24 on and 96 hours off.

Three platoons, usually called A, B and C, run the cycle three days apart. Each platoon works three of every nine days, so between them exactly one platoon is on duty every day. The same article notes that in many North American fire departments firefighters on 24-hour shifts are allowed to sleep at the station overnight between calls.

The hours are plain arithmetic. Three 24-hour shifts every nine days is 72 hours per nine days, or 56 hours per seven-day week. Some online guides quote a lower weekly figure for the Kelly, but the pattern on its own averages the same as any three-platoon rotation of 24-hour shifts.

Kelly schedule and Kelly day are not the same thing

The word Kelly is used for two different ideas, and it causes confusion when firefighters compare departments. The first is the nine-day rotation above. The second is the Kelly day, an extra scheduled day off that lowers the average workweek. Wikipedia describes departments that give each firefighter a 24-hour Kelly day every three weeks, cutting a 56-hour average to 48.

The rotation goes by other names too. Wikipedia lists it as the California roll. A 2006 trial report from the West Metro Fire Protection District in Colorado calls the same day on, day off, day on, day off, day on, four off pattern a Berkley schedule. The 48-96.com site, first built in 2004 for members of the Boise Fire Department, lists departments whose previous schedule was XOXOXOOOO, which it labels Kelly, and a 12-day Modified Kelly written XOXOOXOXOOOO.

When you read a roster from another department, count the letters rather than trusting the name.

Kelly vs 24/48 vs 48/96

All three are three-platoon rotations of 24-hour shifts, so all three average 56 hours a week. What changes is how the time off falls. On a straight 24/48, every shift is followed by two days off. Wikipedia notes that this caps time off at 48 hours in a row, less than the 66 hours most workers get each weekend, and gives only one short weekend off every three weeks.

The Kelly gives up that evenness for a 96-hour break every ninth day. According to Wikipedia, the four-day break lines up with the conventional weekend on two of every nine weekends.

The 48/96 goes further: two 24-hour shifts back to back, then four days off, on a six-day cycle. The 48-96.com site points out that it halves the number of trips to the station and gives Friday, Saturday and Sunday off on two of every six weekends. Four-platoon schedules such as 24 on and 72 off are a separate category, averaging 42 hours a week.

What the studies say about fatigue

Wikipedia's shift plan article summarizes a 2005 Defence R&D Canada report by Paul and Miller that compared five firefighter schedules. It found consecutive night shifts more harmful to performance than a single long shift: performance effectiveness was 75 percent after two consecutive nights and lower after three, against 78 percent for a 24-hour shift. The same summary gives 24 hours off duty as the minimum needed to recover fully from an acute sleep deficit.

For the Kelly, the concern is three shifts packed into five days. Wikipedia notes that sleep debt can build over those three working days and should be cleared over the four-day break.

The 48/96 has its own field data. The West Metro Fire Protection District tracked a nine-month trial in 2006 and recorded 3 avoidable vehicle accidents on the first 24 hours of the 48 and 8 on the second, while finding no injury linked to fatigue. Its union voted 86 percent to keep the schedule. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire, as listed on 48-96.com, voted 89.7 percent to keep it after a one-year trial.

Hours and the FLSA 7(k) work period

US fire departments can use a special overtime rule for firefighters. The Department of Labor explains that a section 7(k) work period can run from 7 to 28 days, and that overtime is owed to fire protection employees after 212 hours in a 28-day period. The federal regulation, 29 CFR 553.230, lists the threshold for every length, including 204 hours for 27 days, 159 for 21 days, 68 for 9 days and 53 for 7 days.

A 27-day period is exactly three Kelly cycles: nine shifts and 216 scheduled hours. How that turns into pay depends on the work period your department adopted and on your contract.

This section is general information, not legal or pay advice. Your payroll office or union can tell you how your department applies section 7(k).

Common mistakes when tracking a Kelly rotation

Using the wrong platoon offset. A, B and C run the same nine-day pattern three days apart. Starting yours on another platoon's day puts every shift of the year on the wrong date.

Treating a Kelly day as part of the pattern. In departments that schedule Kelly days, the Kelly day is an extra shift off on top of the rotation. Mark it as its own change so the underlying pattern stays correct for the rest of the year.

Forgetting that a tour ends the next morning. A 24-hour shift that starts at 7 a.m. on Tuesday ends at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. A court date or appointment on Wednesday morning comes straight after a full tour, even though Wednesday looks like a day off.

DutyWheel includes the Kelly, 48/96 and 24/48 rotations. You pick one, mark the day your cycle started and choose the row that matches your platoon, then edit single days for trades or Kelly days without touching the rest of the year. Its court conflict check understands a 24-hour tour that began the day before.

Frequently asked questions