48 hours on duty (two calendar duty days), 96 hours off (four rest days). Your station may use additional variations.
Pick your platoon
Use a date from your department’s official calendar. ABC and ABCD are template assumptions, not department facts.
Add one confirmed shift to line up your calendar.
Worked platoon examples — January 2027
These are synthetic test fixtures in UTC, not an actual department roster. Confirm your anchor, order and handover with your department’s official calendar.
Expected starts, ends and Kelly dates from the approved example fixtures
Pattern
Platoon
Expected duty
24/48
A
1 Jan 00:00–2 Jan 00:00; next starts 4 Jan 00:00.
24/48
B
2 Jan 00:00–3 Jan 00:00; next starts 5 Jan 00:00.
24/48
C
3 Jan 00:00–4 Jan 00:00; next starts 6 Jan 00:00.
48/96
A
1 Jan 00:00–3 Jan 00:00; next starts 7 Jan 00:00.
48/96
B
3 Jan 00:00–5 Jan 00:00; next starts 9 Jan 00:00.
48/96
C
5 Jan 00:00–7 Jan 00:00; next starts 11 Jan 00:00.
24/48 + Kelly
A
Base starts 1, 4, 7, 10 Jan; 10 Jan tour is Kelly off; next duty 13 Jan; next Kelly 22 Jan.
24/48 + Kelly
B
Base starts 2, 5, 8, 11 Jan; 11 Jan tour is Kelly off; next duty 14 Jan; next Kelly 23 Jan.
24/48 + Kelly
C
Base starts 3, 6, 9, 12 Jan; 12 Jan tour is Kelly off; next duty 15 Jan; next Kelly 24 Jan.
2 days, 2 nights, 4 off
A
Days 1–2 Jan; nights start 3–4 Jan; last night ends 5 Jan 07:00; next day shift 9 Jan 07:00.
2 days, 2 nights, 4 off
B
Days 3–4 Jan; nights start 5–6 Jan; last night ends 7 Jan 07:00; next day shift 11 Jan 07:00.
2 days, 2 nights, 4 off
C
Days 5–6 Jan; nights start 7–8 Jan; last night ends 9 Jan 07:00; next day shift 13 Jan 07:00.
2 days, 2 nights, 4 off
D
Days 7–8 Jan; nights start 9–10 Jan; last night ends 11 Jan 07:00; next day shift 15 Jan 07:00.
For the 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off pattern, a duty day is counted on the local date a shift starts, including night shifts; the shift may continue into the next date.
Your year at a glance
Enter your confirmed first duty date; this calculation uses 2 duty days followed by 4 rest days. Calculations run in your browser.
Build the real calendar, not just the pattern.
48/96 firefighter schedule is illustrated by a 2-duty / 4-rest sequence. Choose its real anchor in the planner before comparing work blocks across 2027.
Whole-year view6-day cycle projected against 2027 dates.
Real-world changesMark exceptions to the 48/96 firefighter schedule duty/rest example.
Leave optimizationTest proposed leave beside a 4-day rest block.
48/96 firefighter schedule illustrative annual totals: 2027 annual example
Assumptions: first duty day 1 Jan 2027; 2 consecutive duty days followed by 4 consecutive rest days; no travel-day allocation, overrides or leave taken. A duty day is a calendar date marked by the repeating work/rest cycle, not a shift-hours calculation.
Month
Duty days
Rest days
January
11
20
February
9
19
March
10
21
April
10
20
May
11
20
June
10
20
July
11
20
August
10
21
September
10
20
October
10
21
November
10
20
December
10
21
2027 total
122
243
These counts change if the first duty date changes. Calculate your actual annual totals using the interactive planner.
Subscribe or compare rosters
The 48/96 firefighter schedule example starts with duty on 1 January 2027. Real shift changes, travel and approved leave can alter the dates.
Nationwide public holidays do not convert scheduled duty into time off. Regional holidays and employer rules may differ.
2027 pattern facts for 48/96 firefighter schedule
Using 1 Jan 2027 as the first duty date, this 2-on / 4-off illustration contains 243 rostered rest dates in 2027, with a longest uninterrupted rest stretch of 4 days inside the calendar year. That starting point is illustrative, not your employer’s published duty roster.
Across all 6 equally weighted possible starting phases, the entire 24–26 Dec Christmas period is free in 2 phases (33.3%); 31 Dec through 1 Jan is free in 3 phases (50.0%).
For illustrative summer-school intervals, the mean number of rostered rest dates is 28.0 of 42 dates for an Australian December–January example, 28.0 of 42 for a UK July–August example, and 41.3 of 62 for a US June–August example. These fixed windows are not official countrywide school calendars and do not include travel or approved leave.
Planning notes specific to 48/96 firefighter schedule
A 48/96 firefighter assignment consists of two 24-hour duty periods in succession followed by four consecutive days away from scheduled duty. Six days constitute the repeating baseline, so the first day of a cycle matters. A crew starting on January 1 does not necessarily share the same weekends with a crew whose start is January 2. The table for 2027 uses calendar dates to show this rotating distribution; it does not say how an individual department credits overtime.
Long shifts raise practical questions about sleep and recovery that a calendar cannot resolve. A scheduled rest block might begin after a handover, training or mandatory overtime. When you compare the sample with your station roster, check whether the start-of-duty label means the beginning of the first 24-hour shift or the beginning of a second day in a contiguous 48-hour assignment. This distinction changes the meaning of a day-level visual.
Annual leave and shift trades depend on local policy. Some departments charge leave by hours rather than calendar days, so a two-day duty block cannot be priced safely from a simple two-day count. Additional emergency cover, callbacks and swaps belong in individual overrides. A family comparison should use those corrected dates instead of the unmodified sample calendar.
When validating a sample with your station, identify the specific platoon and the exact date when its first 48-hour tour starts. Do not borrow another company’s letter designation or rotation phase. Different agencies may add hours, exchange tours, or arrange relief shifts without changing the informal 48/96 label. A family calendar needs these exceptions before a rest weekend can be treated as reliable. The example subscription is best used to understand repeating dates; the final version should reflect the current departmental assignment.
Frequently asked questions
How does 48/96 firefighter schedule repeat?
48 hours on duty (two calendar duty days), 96 hours off (four rest days). Your station may use additional variations. Each projection depends on the verified first duty date.
How should I interpret the 48/96 firefighter schedule 2027 example?
The 48/96 firefighter schedule table describes calendar duty and rest dates. Use the exact confirmed shift start; exceptions, flights and hourly leave charging must be handled separately.
Can I plan time together using 48/96 firefighter schedule?
Yes. Begin with the 48/96 firefighter schedule cycle, then compare the other person’s individually anchored roster. Suggested leave dates are not approved absences.