Oshkosh Fire Fighters to adjust schedules in 2026

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WISS) – Firefighters and EMTs with the Oshkosh Fire Department will have new schedules in 2026.

The new schedule, part of a new contract between the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 316 and the city, would have firefighters working 48 hours on and 96 hours off on a rotating basis.

Oshkosh Fire Chief Tim Heiman explained the rationale for the change to the Common Council.

“There’s a new shift. I shouldn’t say it’s new anymore. It’s been around for quite a while now, but the 48/96, where it’s two shifts on, four shifts off, kind of originated in the West Coast. Due to the commute distance for a lot of the firefighters that were working in larger cities and couldn’t afford to live in their communities became very popular,” Heiman said. “It’s kind of migrated to the Midwest now. So you’re seeing a lot of departments going to that type of shift.”

Oshkosh Mayor Matt Mugerauer expressed concern for long shifts in the new schedules.

“Forty-eight hours in my mind would be a very long time with the amount of calls that they help take care of daily, weekly, monthly, yearly,” Mugerauer said.

Heiman explained that the new schedules would allow firefighters more time to decompress and would also lead to better mental health and more family time.

“ With the longer duration of time in between shifts, the recovery time they’re finding is much better. Even though in our current shift, you’re off for a day in between, you’re not really getting a good amount of rest in that one 24-hour period. When you have the four days off, you’re able to recover much better and come back to your next shift in a little better shape,” Heiman explained.

Heiman said that the labor market for firefighters is very competitive, and a change in shifts will make a good recruitment tool.

He said, “ A lot of our prospective employees, that’s one of the first questions they ask is, ‘What type of shift do we work?’. The 48/96 is definitely the shift that a lot of our newer people are looking for.”

According to a story in the Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh’s firefighters have been working without a contract for about 20 months. This new contract includes back raises for 2024 and 2025, as well as upcoming raises in 2026.

The Common Council voted unanimously to approve the agreement with the IAFF Local 316 as part of its consent agenda. The shift change will take effect in mid-January of 2026.