Isle of Palms firefighters pushing for schedule change

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) – Isle of Palms council members are leading a special workshop Tuesday night where they will discuss a new shift schedule for fire and rescue personnel.

Isle of Palms Fire and Rescue crews are proposing a transition from the current 24-hour on, 48-hour off shift to a 48-hour on, 96-hour off shift come January 2025.

Fire and Rescue staff said more than 83% of their department voted in favor of the change, at least for a one-year trial period. They say that no increase in the budget would be needed, and this shift would not change operational policies, but they argue the change would offer many benefits like improved work-life balance, better job satisfaction, and more time to rest with fatigue management being one of the big issues of the job.

Isle of Palms Fire Chief Greg Oliverius said the 48/96 schedule is something fire and rescue personnel have wanted for a while.

“City council, our administration is extremely supportive, our CFO is extremely supportive, our firefighters have been very patient, it is something they have wanted to try for quite a while, and with a small organization sometimes it takes a little bit to get those wheels of government moving and we are looking forward to hopefully getting this into position where we can attempt a trial period of one year, and if council supports and approves it, we will be looking at starting that in January of 2025,” he said.

This change will be discussed during a special Isle of Palms City Council workshop on Tuesday night. If it passes this stage, it would need to be approved at another council meeting at the end of the month to move forward.