Kelly Schedule: 9-Day Firefighter Rotation Calculator & Guide
Set the first tour of any 9-day cycle below and see every duty day and every 4-day break for the next 12 months — then check any date with one tap.
How the Kelly schedule works
The Kelly is the fire service's alternating classic: 24 on, 24 off, 24 on, 24 off, 24 on — then four days off, a 9-day cycle shared by three platoons offset three days apart:
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Days 6–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On duty | Off | On duty | Off | On duty | Off ✕4 |
The rhythm alternates a working day with a recovery day, so no tour ever starts on the back of another tour — the defining difference from the 48/96, which stacks two tours together. After the third tour the cycle pays out its 4-day break, the piece everyone plans their life around.
Kelly schedule by the numbers
- Cycle length: 9 days — 3 tours of 24 hours, 6 days off
- Hours: 72 per cycle, an average of 56 per week
- Tours per year: ~121–122 (≈2,920 duty hours)
- Longest stretch: a single 24-hour tour — never back-to-back
- Platoons: 3, offset by three days
The single-day off — friend and enemy
The lone recovery day between tours is what makes the Kelly humane on busy houses: even after a no-sleep night you are guaranteed a bed tomorrow. It is also the pattern's most criticized feature, because a day sandwiched between two 24-hour tours is rarely a "real" day off — half of it goes to sleep, and an evening commitment risks starting the next tour tired. Crews tend to treat sandwich days as recovery and errands, and save actual life for the 4-day block.
Because the 9-day cycle drifts against the 7-day week, your 4-day break sweeps through the calendar — over nine weeks it lands on every part of the week, weekends included. The 12-month calendar above (or the .ics export in your phone) is the sane way to see where the good breaks fall this year.
Pros and cons crews actually report
What people love
- Never two tours back-to-back — the fatigue ceiling is one bad night, not two.
- The guaranteed 4-day break every cycle, drifting through weekends fairly.
- Alternating days keep you connected to home life mid-cycle.
What people struggle with
- Three commutes per cycle — rough with a long drive.
- Sandwich days off are recovery days, not free days.
- The 9-day rhythm never syncs with the workweek, so fixed weekly commitments suffer.
Using the calculator for your platoon
Set the cycle start date to the first tour of any 9-day cycle you remember, and the year unrolls — slide the preview strip a day at a time if your memory is fuzzy. Comparing offers or departments? The 48/96 guide covers the other dominant fire schedule, and the pay estimator will total your gross hours (fire-specific 7(k) overtime excluded — that lives in your CBA).
Frequently asked questions
What is a Kelly schedule?
A firefighter rotation built on a 9-day cycle: work a 24-hour tour, take a day off, work, off, work — then take four consecutive days off. Three platoons run the same loop offset by three days, covering the station around the clock at an average of 56 hours per week.
What is a "Kelly day"?
Originally, a Kelly day is an extra scheduled day off inserted to pull average weekly hours down — the name traces back to 1930s Chicago under mayor Edward J. Kelly. Today many departments use "Kelly day" loosely for the scheduled off-day in their rotation, and "Kelly schedule" for rotations like this one that bake those days in.
How many shifts a year is a Kelly schedule?
Three tours every 9 days works out to about 121–122 twenty-four-hour tours a year — roughly 2,920 duty hours, the same annual load as a 48/96. The difference is entirely in how the tours are arranged, not how many there are.
Kelly schedule vs 48/96 — which is better?
They carry identical average hours, so it is purely a shape question. Kelly never asks for more than 24 hours at a stretch, which is easier on sleep during busy tours — but you commute three times per cycle and your week is chopped up by single days off. The 48/96 concentrates the pain into one 48-hour block and repays it with four straight days off. Long commutes favor the 48/96; high call volume favors the Kelly.
Does this calculator match my department’s Kelly variant?
It implements the most common 9-day version (on-off-on-off-on, then 4 off). Departments do run variants with different cycle lengths or inserted Kelly days. If your printed roster disagrees, use the "Find my pattern" tool on the home page — enter your last two weeks and it will identify which supported rotation reproduces your dates.