(a) General rule.--The director of the department having charge of the fire bureau in a city may divide the officers and members of companies of the uniformed fire force in the employ of the city, and any other firefighters and drivers regularly employed and paid by the city, except the chief engineer and assistant chiefs, and those employed subject to call, into shifts, bodies or platoons to perform service during the hours as the director shall fix. In cases of riot, serious conflagration, times of war, public celebrations or other emergency, the fire chief or officer in charge at any fire shall have the power to assign all the members of the fire force to continuous duty or to continue any member of the fire force on duty, if necessary.

(b) Schedule after May 19, 2014.--Except as provided in subsection (c), no schedule shall require a member of any shift, body or platoon to perform continuous service for a consecutive period of 24 hours, except in cases of emergency or as otherwise agreed to through collective bargaining or an award pursuant to the act of June 24, 1968 (P.L.237, No.111), referred to as the Policemen and Firemen Collective Bargaining Act. The provisions of this subsection shall not be deemed to alter or affect any schedules in existence prior to May 19, 2014.

(c) Schedule before May 19, 2014.--In a city where the work schedule in existence prior to May 19, 2014, required a work shift of less than 24 hours, no schedule shall require a member of any shift, body or platoon to perform continuous service for a consecutive period of 24 hours, except in cases of emergency or as otherwise voluntarily agreed through collective bargaining. Once so modified, no further work schedule may contain provisions reinstituting a restriction on duty of less than 24 hours of continuous service.