We were so short staffed that I worked 8 24 hour shifts in a row and that wasn’t a record in the department. We were forcing OT nearly every day.
Hubby is a retired Captain. Most people have no clue what firefighters actually do anymore. The majority of their time is on medical calls.
When i left they weren’t allowing more than a 48 hour shift without a day off. Not sure how the Alarm Office or Chiefs did it. I can see working 8 shifts at Crash Fire Rescue or even another slow station but definitely see a saftey issue at a busy station. 2 or 3 structure fires and maybe a prolonged incident and the physical toll would certainly impair even those in the best shape.