North Shore Fire’s 6-week scheduling pivot to prepare for NERIS
North Shore Fire Department moved scheduling to First Due in just 6–8 weeks to meet a hard deadline and build toward a unified platform for scheduling, NERIS reporting, pre-plans, and inspections.
“We had about six weeks, 6 to 8 weeks to potentially get this up and running.”
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Measurable impact
6–8
Weeks to Stand Up Scheduling
5+
Years of Digital Pre-Plans
~12,000
Supported by 112 Active Responders
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The Story
Background
North Shore Fire Department is a consolidated regional agency serving seven communities along Milwaukee County’s North Shore. Over time, the department had accumulated separate tools for scheduling, pre-plans, and incident reporting, creating a fragmented operational environment.
Challenge
By late 2025, NERIS readiness increased pressure on reporting timelines, while North Shore’s scheduling contract was expiring. With only six to eight weeks before the contract end, leadership needed a fast, low-disruption way to keep staffing operations running while planning for broader modernization.
Solution
North Shore expanded its existing First Due footprint—already used for digital pre-incident planning for nearly five years—to stand up Scheduling & Personnel first. Leadership leveraged training resources and early configuration work to quickly build the department’s shift structure, including support for a California schedule (24/24/24/4).
During implementation, the team documented edge cases—especially around overtime and call-shift logic when members pick up overtime while on vacation—and submitted improvement requests to ensure the system matched real-world staffing rules.
Results
Scheduling went live on an accelerated timeline, allowing the department to replace a legacy scheduling tool without interrupting day-to-day operations. With scheduling established, North Shore is positioned to transition NERIS reporting next and expand into inspections—reducing administrative friction by bringing key workflows under one platform.
About
North Shore Fire Department
Quick facts
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Scheduling that matches your reality — not the vendor’s assumptions
First Due Scheduling & Personnel is built for complex rules, union requirements, and the real-world overtime scenarios that make fire scheduling hard.
Scheduling touches people’s pain — where they work, what apparatus they’re on, how much overtime they get.
What North Shore needed (and what most agencies do, too):
- A shift board that supports complex rotations like 24/24/24/4
- Clear visibility for backfill, mandates, and overtime
- Configurable workflows that mirror existing policy — without losing accountability
In their own words:
- What’s your role at North Shore, and how do you interact with First Due?
- Brian Wisniewski is a shift Battalion Chief and has been leading the Scheduling work as the department transitions more systems to First Due.
- What systems were you using before, and what pushed you to look elsewhere?
- North Shore used CrewSense for scheduling and other programs. With NERIS coming, their reporting vendor’s readiness timeline was uncertain and costs were increasing, prompting the department to look elsewhere.
- Why did First Due stand out?
- The department had already used First Due for pre-plans for close to five years, and chose to expand into scheduling, NERIS reporting, and eventually inspections.
- How tight was the timeline for scheduling?
- The CrewSense contract ended October 1, leaving about six to eight weeks to get Scheduling up and running.
- What schedule model do you run?
- North Shore runs a California schedule: 24 on / 24 off, 24 on / 24 off, a third 24-hour shift, then four days off.
- What’s been challenging about scheduling and overtime?
- Short staffing and frequent mandatories—especially in promoted positions—made overtime management more challenging, alongside a tougher hiring environment.
- What modules are you live on today vs. next?
- Scheduling was the first priority. The department planned to transition NERIS next, with inspections targeted for the following year; pre-plans were already in use.
- What’s a bigger operational wish list item?
- CAD integration—particularly with ProPhoenix—so regional response visibility can improve across multiple communities and agencies.
Ready to modernize scheduling without breaking trust?
See how First Due helps fire and EMS agencies replace paper, patchwork tools, and vendor uncertainty with one platform.
