What do those long shifts look like for you? How long are your breaks? How do breaks even work? How well do you even sleep?
The longest shift I ever did was 24 hours, in a rural/suburban environment. I've seem some shifts that are 48 hours long. 72 sounds insane. The longest I have ever worked (outside of a disaster is 3 back to back to back 12 hour shifts, for different agencies. Did that twice, never again.
We don't get breaks. you are on the truck for the duration of the shift, and you don't get any predefined breaks. Your "breaks" are your downtime, which is any time when you aren't on a call.
I sleep ok, when I can turn the radio off so I don't hear the chatter in the county, and am alerted by my truck's pager.
If that poster is away from home for 5 days, and working in an urban setting, than they are chosing to not go home. He hasn't been working for 5 days straight. He went to disneyland, he went to his gf's house, he went to his mistress's house, and slept on a buddy's couch, who knows, but he but he wasn't working for 5 days, on back to back 24 hour shifts.
Personally, I like sleeping in my own bed.