Fire Department 48-Hour Schedule

At a glance

• What: Briefing by Fire Chief Chief Pravetz on moving from the current 56-hour week to a 48-hour schedule.
• Where it stands: Option 1 is to request 63 FTEs in the FY28 budget to phase in a 48-hour week; schedule changes could begin September 2028.

Details

• Current staffing: 583 sworn FTE with 24 vacancies.
• Option 1 costs $3.6M in year 1 and $5.5M in year 2, with academies in October 2027 (33 FTE) and April 2028 (30 FTE).
• The long-term 42-hour model (165 FTEs) would cost $5.2M, $10.5M and $14.9M over three years.
• Norfolk adopted a fourth-shift model.

Sources

• 2026-09-08 - City Council (official minutes: https://edocs.vbgov.com/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=51865770&dbid=0&repo=CityClerk)

Log

• 2026-09-08 - 2026-09-08 - City Council: Briefing on the 48-hour schedule option and costs.