03/30/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Af94WQtGZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Why are you so scared of solutions?? It blows my mind that fire service leaders still refuse to acknowledge that our profession is drowning. There is a national recruitment and retention crisis, not to mention the litany of work related d*aths that plague us.
The downstream cost of this mismanagement is astronomical, with taxpayers’ money squandered on avoidable overtime and training recruits who turn around and leave for other departments.
Most importantly, the impact on our firefighters and their families is nothing short of disgusting. The very people responsible for this crisis go home at 5pm every night whilst their firefighters are forced into unending mandatory overtime. 56 hour sleepless work weeks become upward of 80. This has an irrefutable impact on physical, mental and relationship health and the statistics don’t lie.
What’s maddening is that the solutions are out there. The first and most important change is to take the wasted downstream costs and invest them proactively in a fourth shift, (24/72), creating a 42 hour work week. Over 20 departments have made this progressive change in the last three years alone and voices from Pasco County, FL and Gainesville, FL have told of the immense success they’ve witnessed.
Recruitment has boomed, unneeded overtime all but eliminated, hiring classes full of veteran firefighters AND paramedics. Morale is up and sick time usage is down. Layer this on top of the science that proves sleep deprivation is behind so much of our ill health and we’re left with only one question: “Why do so many chiefs and even unions resist this proactive change?”
Knowing that real leadership requires selflessness and moral courage, I’ll let you make your own conclusion.
For those of you with the courage to truly fight for your men and women, there is a mountain of FREE information on my website jamesgeering.com under the “24/72” tab. From the world’s to scientists to testimonies from departments that made the change, the work has already been done. All that’s left is to find the courage to act.
