| Greetings from the Fire Commission, we would like to take a few minutes to update you on several changes from the Commission as outlined below:
1. Live Burns - effective 9/1/16 Live Burns will only be good for 3 years from the date of issue.
2. Welcome to New Commission Members
Toran Hedgepath from Newport FD is full filling the rest of Michael Slays' term until 7/31 and then will being a six year term on 8/1/16. In addition, David Windrow from the Brentwood FD has been appointed effective 8/1 to fill a six year term. We wish to thank both Charlie Vance and Michael Slay for their service to the Commission and the Fire Service of the State. At this time, the Governor’s Office still has 1 more appointment or reappointment for the next six years to fill.
3. Certification Test Updates:
We have submitted Fire Apparatus Operator, Pumper Driver and Aerial Apparatus Operator to Pro Board for Accreditation and have been notified that they have accredited all three levels. However, for us to move forward with these levels they will be updated to the NFPA 1002, 2014 Standard. In addition, each chapter (4, 5, and 6) of NFPA 1002 must be passed before certification can be awarded. Example: You must pass chapter 4 and 5 for Pumper, in addition, you must pass chapter 4 and 6 for Aerial, and you must pass chapter 4, 5 and 6 for FAO. Each chapter will have 50 questions each and will be scored separately for a passing score of 70, not the overall test. As it stands now for PDO you could fail chapter 4 by missing 16 questions out of 50 which would give you a 68 and pass chapter 5 by only missing 14 questions out of 50 which would give you a 72. Since they are currently scored together you would have made a 70 overall. However, scoring as required by Pro Board you will only have a 68 on chapter 4 and a 72 on chapter 5 which results in a failure even though they average 70 together. Again, for accreditation at those levels you must pass each chapter individually. In the coming days we will be working on generating the new exams that will meet the acceridation requirements, also, we will be updating the reading list on our web site and have already updated the skills sheets to the new standard which they can be found on our website at: http://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/commerce/attachments/ffc-FAO-AADO-PDO-EdPracticals.pdf
Below is the reading list for FAO, PDO & AADO:
NFPA 1002, 2014 Edition
IFSTA, Pumping and Aerial Apparatus Driver/Operator Handbook, 3rd Edition
Jones and Bartlett, Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator: Pumper, Aerial, Tiller and Mobile Water Supply, 2nd Edition
We are also working on updating Airport Firefighter to the 2015 standard also. The skills sheets have been updated and can be found on our website at: http://www.tn.gov/commerce/article/ffc-certification-applications-forms
Below is the reading list is for Airport FF:
NFPA 1003, Airport Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, 2015 Edition
IFSTA, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, 6th Edition, 1st Printing
NFPA 402, Guide for Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Operations, 2013 Edition
4. Reciprocity
Effective September 1st the Commission will no longer grant reciprocity unless they can show proof of residency in Tennessee or documentation of support, sponsorship or employment by a fire chief or department recognized in Tennessee under TCA 68-102-301. If you have questions contact Coordinator Richard Rockford
5. Digital Certificates
Over the next several weeks we will be moving from paper certificates to digital certificates. This will allow the departments and the individuals to print certificates directly from the Acadis Portal. To print a certificate for yourself, you will need portal access first, then go to the certification band under the home tab on your profile, find the certification you wish to print and then on the right side of the screen click print. This should generate a PDF certificate in a pop up window for you to save or print. To print certificates for your personnel, click on the Personnel tab, then select See a List of Personnel, then select the person you wish to print a certificate for and repeat the same steps above. As a result of this new process, certificates will be ready once a person has passed both the written and practical exams and certification has been conferred in Acadis. This will save considerable time in processing, printing and mailing. If you have questions contact Cheryl Denner.
6. Department Course Request
There has been a Department Course Request Form added in the Acadis Portal under the Academy Resources tab, you can then select Department Course Request. This form is to be used for course approval for departments meeting training requirements for certifications that require course work. This can only be used for courses using 3rd party lesson plans such as IFSTA, Jones & Bartlett etc. Once a Department Course Requested is submitted, it will be reviewed by staff, approved if it meets requirements of the standard and then attached to your department’s profile in Acadis. In addition, a report will be provided to the commission at its next regular business meeting of those departments and courses that have been approved by staff.
7. In-Service Training Programs for Educational Incentive Pay
These programs are due November 1st 2016 for the 2017 Training Year. If you have questions contact Coordinator Steve Cross
The next meeting of the Commission will be Nov 1st and 2nd in Jackson TN at the Madison County Fire Department. Nov 1st will be a work session and the 2nd will be a business meeting. Both days will start at 9:oo AM. If you have items you wish to be on the agenda please heve them to us two weeks prior to the meeting.
In closing stay safe out there and thank you for your service.
Fire Commission Staff |
