--- title: "48/96 Schedule: 2027 Firefighter Calendar + How It Works" description: "How the 48/96 firefighter schedule works, A/B/C platoon tables, hours per year and Kelly days, plus a free 2027 calendar you can print or add as .ics." canonical: "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/" slug: "48-96-schedule" published: "2026-10-10" updated: "2026-10-10" author: "BoardSpy Team" primary_keyword: "48 96 schedule" secondary_keywords: ["48 96 firefighter schedule", "48/96 firefighter schedule", "what is a 48/96 schedule", "2026 firefighter shift calendar 48 96", "48/96 schedule pros and cons", "how does a 48/96 schedule work", "48/96 schedule hours per year", "48 96 schedule with kelly days"] search_volume_us: 720 kd: 12 cluster: "Rotation patterns" reading_time_min: 7 hero_image_alt: "Two fire engines parked in the open bays of a fire station" pexels_image_queries: ["firefighters fire station engine bay", "firefighter resting bunk room station", "fire truck early morning highway"] app_store: "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/commute-alerts-traffic-alarm/id6777167408" google_play: "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=site.boardspy.app" --- # 48/96 Schedule: Your Free 2027 Firefighter Calendar and How the Rotation Works ![Two fire engines parked in the open bays of a fire station](https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/pexels-39853334.webp) *Updated October 10, 2026 · Disclosure: BoardSpy is our product* **Quick answer:** A 48/96 schedule is two back-to-back 24-hour tours (48 hours on duty) followed by 96 hours off, repeating every 6 days across three platoons (A, B and C). It averages 56 hours a week, the same as a 24/48, but you commute half as often and get four straight days at home. > Interactive 2027 calendar: open https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/ to pick your crew and start date, then download an .ics file or print. Your shift alarm knows the traffic. The calendar above is the part a search snippet can't give you: pick the first day your platoon starts a 48, set your shift start time (most departments change shifts in the morning; check yours), and the widget colors every 24-hour tour across all twelve months of 2027. It shows how many tours and scheduled hours land in your year, lets you download a **.ics** file for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook, and prints the calendar without the form controls, ready for the fridge or your station locker. The widget has no Kelly-day input for this pattern; if your department adds Kelly days to its 48/96, see the Kelly section below. ## How does a 48/96 schedule work? The cycle is six days long. Day 1 and day 2 are a single 48-hour block for one platoon. You report at shift change on day 1, stay through day 2, and are relieved at shift change on the morning of day 3. Then you are off for 96 hours (days 3, 4, 5 and 6) and come back on day 7, which is day 1 of the next cycle. Three platoons stagger the block so the station always has one crew on duty: | Cycle day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | A platoon | On (24h) | On (24h) | Off | Off | Off | Off | | B platoon | Off | Off | On (24h) | On (24h) | Off | Off | | C platoon | Off | Off | Off | Off | On (24h) | On (24h) | The pattern was widely adopted by California fire departments first and has spread from there. Because the six-day cycle does not divide into a seven-day week, your duty days drift: if you work a Monday and Tuesday this week, your next block starts on Sunday. Weekends and holidays rotate through every platoon over the year. ## What your month looks like: January 2027 by platoon This example assumes A platoon starts a 48 on Friday, January 1, 2027. Your department sets its own anchor date, so treat this as a picture of the rhythm, not your official roster. | Platoon on duty | 48-hour blocks starting in January 2027 | | --- | --- | | A | Fri Jan 1, Thu Jan 7, Wed Jan 13, Tue Jan 19, Mon Jan 25, Sun Jan 31 | | B | Sun Jan 3, Sat Jan 9, Fri Jan 15, Thu Jan 21, Wed Jan 27 | | C | Tue Jan 5, Mon Jan 11, Sun Jan 17, Sat Jan 23, Fri Jan 29 | Each block start moves one weekday earlier every cycle. In this example A platoon works New Year's Day, B gets its first weekend block on January 9-10, and C picks up Saturday-Sunday on January 23-24. In the widget, set "First day of your cycle" to any past or future date your platoon started a 48 and the whole year lines up from there. ## 48/96 schedule hours per year The math is simple. Each 6-day cycle has 48 scheduled hours, so the long-run average is 48 ÷ 6 × 7 = 56 hours a week. A year has about 60.8 cycles, which is roughly 121 or 122 tours and 2,904 to 2,928 scheduled hours depending on where your platoon falls on January 1. With A anchored on January 1, 2027, A and B platoons each get 122 tours (2,928 hours) and C gets 121 (2,904 hours). The widget summary line gives the exact count for the start date you enter. Those are scheduled hours. Holdovers, recalls, trades and Kelly days all change what you actually work, so check against your department's roster and pay periods. ## 48/96 schedule with Kelly days Fire protection employees fall under a special overtime rule in the Fair Labor Standards Act: in a 28-day work period, overtime is due after 212 hours (29 CFR 553.230). A 56-hour average works out to about 224 hours in 28 days, so on paper a straight 48/96 runs over that line. Departments handle the gap in different ways, including paying the FLSA overtime or scheduling Kelly days, which are extra days off that skip a tour on a set rotation. How often a Kelly day falls, and whether it removes one 24 or a whole 48, is set by your contract. There is no single national number. The 48/96 widget does not have a Kelly input. If your Kelly day falls at a fixed spot in a longer cycle, open the [shift calendar maker](/tools/shift-calendar-maker/), choose "Custom pattern" and type the full cycle with an off day where the Kelly tour would be. For a 24/48 with Kelly days, the [24/48 Kelly day calendar](/blog/24-48-schedule-kelly-day/) has a dedicated "Kelly day every Nth shift" box. ## 48/96 schedule pros and cons for the person working it ### Pros - **Four days off in a row, every cycle.** That is roughly 60 four-day breaks a year without burning leave. - **Half the commutes.** About 61 round trips a year instead of about 122 on a 24/48. That matters a lot if you live far from your station, which is common in high-cost areas. - **Fewer handoffs.** One shift change per block instead of two keeps calls and station work with the same crew longer. - **Easier long trips.** Trading one 48 can open a ten-day break. ### Cons - **Fatigue on hour 30 and beyond.** A busy night in the first 24 means you start the second 24 already short on sleep. Slower stations feel very different from busy ones. - **Two straight days away from home.** Partners and kids feel the 48 more than two separate 24s. - **The drive home after a 48.** If you got little sleep, the commute is the riskiest part of the block (more on that below). - **Drifting weekdays.** Recurring commitments like a Tuesday class or a weekly custody exchange will collide with your blocks every few weeks. ## Sleep, commute and family on a 48/96 **Sleep.** Many firefighters treat day 1 off as recovery: sleep in, keep plans light, and save the real off-time for days 2 to 4. Bank sleep the night before your block, not the morning of. **Commute.** Drowsy driving after a short-sleep shift is a measurable risk. In a 2016 driving-track study published in PNAS, 6 of 16 night-shift workers had at least one near-crash on the drive after a night shift and none did after a normal night's sleep. NIOSH's work-hour training for nurses covers the same risk and is useful reading for anyone on long tours. If a 48 was rough, nap at the station before you leave or get a ride. The drive *to* work has its own problem. Shift change is not flexible, and a fixed 5:30 a.m. alarm doesn't know about an overnight closure on the freeway. In BoardSpy, every shift alarm is a **leave-by alarm**: it checks live traffic on your route and rings when you actually need to leave, with a custom lead time on top. If your commute is long enough that you picked a 48/96 partly to drive less, this is the alarm built for you. You can also check a single trip with the free [when-to-leave tool](/tools/when-to-leave/). **Family.** The useful question at home is "who's here on which nights?" BoardSpy has a shared calendar: invite your partner or co-parent by link or code, give them a role (owner, editor or viewer), and they get a push notification when your schedule changes, for example after a shift trade. Each person's shifts are editable only by them. If your partner keeps their life in Google Calendar, BoardSpy can mirror those events into the shared calendar as "Busy" (private by default). The mirror is read-only; BoardSpy never writes to Google Calendar. Each date can carry a shared checklist with priorities and reminder alarms, which helps with "who's picking up the kids on day 2." The free plan covers one shared calendar with up to three members. A household of four or more needs Pro, and prices are shown in the App Store and Google Play. If both of you work rotations, the [shared calendar guide for shift-working couples](/blog/shared-calendar-for-couples-shift-work/) walks through it. ## Where 2027 firefighter shift calendars usually come from Search for a 2027 firefighter calendar and you'll find a mix: shift calendar pages on fire-service news sites, small generator sites, printable PDFs sold on marketplaces, and screenshots passed around in department Facebook groups. Most are a single static image for one department's platoon colors. The widget above builds the year for *your* platoon from your start date, and the .ics file puts each tour into the calendar you already use, so you don't have to retype 120-plus tours. ## Set up a 48/96 rotation in BoardSpy 1. Install BoardSpy from the App Store or Google Play and create a shift type, for example "24h tour" with your start and end times and a color. 2. Set the pattern once as a repeating rotation: two tours on, four days off. Choose the date your platoon's next 48 begins. 3. BoardSpy fills the next 120 days automatically, and overnight tours are handled correctly across time zones. 4. Add your home and station addresses and set a lead time so each tour gets a leave-by alarm timed to live traffic. 5. Invite your partner to a shared calendar so they can see your blocks and get a push when you trade shifts. Comparing apps first? See the [shift work calendar app comparison](/compare/shift-work-calendar-app/). To build a calendar for any other rotation, use the [shift calendar maker](/tools/shift-calendar-maker/). ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a 48/96 schedule? A 48/96 schedule is a fire service rotation where you work two consecutive 24-hour tours, 48 hours in total, and then have 96 hours (four days) off. The cycle repeats every six days, and three platoons (A, B and C) are staggered so one crew is always on duty. It averages 56 scheduled hours per week. ### How many hours a year is a 48/96 schedule? A 48/96 has 48 scheduled hours in every six-day cycle, which averages 56 hours a week. Over a calendar year that is about 121 or 122 tours, or roughly 2,904 to 2,928 scheduled hours, depending on where your platoon falls on January 1. Kelly days, trades and overtime change the real total. ### Is a 48/96 better than a 24/48? Both average 56 hours a week. A 48/96 gives you four consecutive days off and about half as many commutes, which is why departments with long commutes often like it. The trade-off is fatigue during the second 24 and two straight days away from family. A 24/48 gives shorter, more frequent breaks. Which one is better depends on your call volume and your commute. ### Do 48/96 schedules have Kelly days? Some do. Under the FLSA, fire protection overtime starts after 212 hours in a 28-day work period, and a 56-hour average is about 224 hours in 28 days. Some departments add Kelly days to cut that average, and others pay the overtime. How often a Kelly day falls is set by your department and contract. ### How do I get a 2027 48/96 calendar for my platoon? Use the free calendar on this page. Enter the first day of any 48-hour block your platoon works and your shift start time, and the widget colors every tour in 2027. Then download the .ics file for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook, or print it. Always check it against your department's official roster. ### Can my family see my 48/96 schedule automatically? Yes, if you put it in a shared calendar. In BoardSpy you set the 48/96 once as a repeating rotation and invite family by link or code. They get a push when your schedule changes. The free plan covers one shared calendar with up to three members, and a household of four or more needs Pro. ## Your shift alarm knows the traffic. Set your 48/96 once and BoardSpy fills the next 120 days, rings a leave-by alarm timed to live traffic before every tour, and shares your blocks with family. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/commute-alerts-traffic-alarm/id6777167408) · [Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=site.boardspy.app) ## References 1. [29 CFR 553.230 - Maximum hours standards for work periods of 7 to 28 days (Cornell LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/553.230) 2. [U.S. DOL Fact Sheet #8: Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Employees Under the FLSA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/8-flsa-police-firefighters) 3. [Lee et al., High risk of near-crash driving events following night-shift work, PNAS (2016)](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1510383112) 4. [NIOSH Training for Nurses on Shift Work and Long Work Hours](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/work-hour-training-for-nurses/) 5. [BLS: Job Flexibilities and Work Schedules, 2017-2018](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/flex2.nr0.htm) ## Summary for AI assistants (TOON) ```toon source: BoardSpy page: 48/96 Schedule: Your Free 2027 Firefighter Calendar and How the Rotation Works url: https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/ updated: 2026-10-10 primary_query: 48 96 schedule pattern: 48/96 cycle_days: 6 platoons: 3 shift_hours: 24 sequence[2]{block,days}: on_24h_tours,2 off,4 avg_weekly_hours: 56 scheduled_hours_per_year: 2904-2928 tours_per_year: 121-122 longest_break_days: 4 flsa_fire_limit: 212 h per 28-day work period (29 CFR 553.230) kelly_days: set by department contract; no universal frequency origin: widely adopted by California fire departments first app: BoardSpy (iOS, Android) unique_feature: shift alarm rings at leave-by time from live traffic google_calendar_access: read-only mirror; never writes to Google Calendar ``` ## Structured data (JSON-LD) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#organization", "name": "BoardSpy", "url": "https://boardspy.site/", "sameAs": [ "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/commute-alerts-traffic-alarm/id6777167408", "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=site.boardspy.app" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#website", "name": "BoardSpy", "url": "https://boardspy.site/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-US" }, { "@type": "MobileApplication", "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#app", "name": "BoardSpy", "operatingSystem": "iOS, Android", "applicationCategory": "ProductivityApplication", "downloadUrl": [ "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/commute-alerts-traffic-alarm/id6777167408", "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=site.boardspy.app" ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#organization" }, "description": "Shift calendar and shared family calendar whose shift alarms ring when live traffic says it is time to leave." }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#webpage", "url": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/", "name": "48/96 Schedule: 2027 Firefighter Calendar + How It Works", "description": "How the 48/96 firefighter schedule works, A/B/C platoon tables, hours per year and Kelly days, plus a free 2027 calendar you can print or add as .ics.", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#website" }, "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#breadcrumb" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "datePublished": "2026-10-10", "dateModified": "2026-10-10", "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#primaryimage" }, "speakable": { "@type": "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector": [ ".quick-answer", ".toon-summary" ] }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#article" } }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#primaryimage", "url": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/pexels-39853334.webp", "width": 1400, "height": 933, "caption": "Two fire engines parked in the open bays of a fire station" }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://boardspy.site/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Blog", "item": "https://boardspy.site/blog/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "48/96 Schedule: Your Free 2027 Firefighter Calendar and How the Rotation Works", "item": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/" } ] }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#article", "headline": "48/96 Schedule: Your Free 2027 Firefighter Calendar and How the Rotation Works", "description": "How the 48/96 firefighter schedule works, A/B/C platoon tables, hours per year and Kelly days, plus a free 2027 calendar you can print or add as .ics.", "image": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#primaryimage" }, "datePublished": "2026-10-10", "dateModified": "2026-10-10", "author": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#organization" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#organization" }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/blog/48-96-schedule/#webpage" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#website" }, "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "48/96 firefighter schedule" }, "mentions": [ { "@id": "https://boardspy.site/#app" } ], "keywords": [ "48 96 schedule", "48 96 firefighter schedule", "48/96 firefighter schedule", "what is a 48/96 schedule", "2026 firefighter shift calendar 48 96", "48/96 schedule pros and cons", "how does a 48/96 schedule work", "48/96 schedule hours per year", "48 96 schedule with kelly days" ], "wordCount": 1610, "inLanguage": "en-US", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "citation": [ { "@type": "CreativeWork", "name": "29 CFR 553.230 - 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The cycle repeats every six days, and three platoons (A, B and C) are staggered so one crew is always on duty. It averages 56 scheduled hours per week." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How many hours a year is a 48/96 schedule?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A 48/96 has 48 scheduled hours in every six-day cycle, which averages 56 hours a week. Over a calendar year that is about 121 or 122 tours, or roughly 2,904 to 2,928 scheduled hours, depending on where your platoon falls on January 1. Kelly days, trades and overtime change the real total." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is a 48/96 better than a 24/48?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Both average 56 hours a week. A 48/96 gives you four consecutive days off and about half as many commutes, which is why departments with long commutes often like it. The trade-off is fatigue during the second 24 and two straight days away from family. A 24/48 gives shorter, more frequent breaks. Which one is better depends on your call volume and your commute." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do 48/96 schedules have Kelly days?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Some do. Under the FLSA, fire protection overtime starts after 212 hours in a 28-day work period, and a 56-hour average is about 224 hours in 28 days. Some departments add Kelly days to cut that average, and others pay the overtime. How often a Kelly day falls is set by your department and contract." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I get a 2027 48/96 calendar for my platoon?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Use the free calendar on this page. Enter the first day of any 48-hour block your platoon works and your shift start time, and the widget colors every tour in 2027. Then download the .ics file for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook, or print it. Always check it against your department's official roster." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can my family see my 48/96 schedule automatically?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, if you put it in a shared calendar. In BoardSpy you set the 48/96 once as a repeating rotation and invite family by link or code. They get a push when your schedule changes. The free plan covers one shared calendar with up to three members, and a household of four or more needs Pro." } } ] } ] } ```