Greenville NC Moves from 24/48 to 24/72 Firefighter Shift Schedule

In a unanimous vote by the Greenville City Council on September 11, 2025, the City of Greenville, North Carolina, approved a major schedule change for its Fire/Rescue Department. Starting in March 2026, firefighters will move from a 24 hours on / 48 hours off shift schedule to a 24 hours on / 72 hours off schedule. The City of Greenville is the latest in what is turning into a long line of fire departments seeking to modify firefighters’ shift schedules with an eye towards reducing overall hours worked.

Under the current 24/48 schedule, firefighters work one full 24-hour shift, then have 48 hours off before the next shift. Both rank and file firefighters and department leadership have raised concerns that this schedule does not always allow sufficient recovery, given the high call volume, overtime, and fatigue associated with the 24/48 schedule. Additionally, there is a hope that this new schedule will help improve the department’s recruitment and retention efforts.

Do you have questions about moving from a 3-platoon to a 4-platoon organizational structure? Is your organization considering such a move or inserting Kelly Days in an effort to reduce firefighters’ hours worked? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please join us at the upcoming webinar entitled Advanced FLSA: Firefighter Work Schedules for the 21st Century on November 19, 2025. In this live 3-hour webinar we take a deep-dive into firefighter work schedules and potential overtime implications from changing work schedules and/or work periods. Click here for more information including a detailed description.

Here is more on the City of Greenville’s plans from WNCT-TV 9.