CHANGES could be made to West Yorkshire firefighters' shift patterns.
The idea behind the move is to increase efficiency.
A report on the county's Fire and Rescue Authority says the changes could lead to `freeing up' a possible 400,000 employee hours a year across the county.
This time could be spent on more fire prevention and education work in the community.
Clr Robert Light, the authority's deputy chairman, said: "As an authority we have a duty to look at how best to use our resources."
Clr Light, the Tory leader on Kirklees Council, said the authority was trying to make sure the fire service evolved from not only being a reactive service but an increasingly proactive one.
At the moment, most operational firefighters work in what is know as the two, two, four shift system.
That is two days on, two nights on, followed by four days off.
This is made up of a nine-hour day and a 15-hour night.
After 10pm the night staff are on `stand down'. They are available to respond to emergencies but do not do any other duties.
The proposed changes would see the same shift pattern, but the duration would be equalised to 12 hours each.
All the proposals will be discussed by the authority's executive committee on Friday.
Mark Wilson, a leading member of the Fire Brigades' Union in West Yorkshire, said: "We have no objection, in principal, to carry on negotiations around this subject."
But he refused to make any further comment because negotiations were continuing with management.
