August 24, 2010, Introduced by Senators GARCIA, KAHN, BARCIA, PRUSI, JANSEN and CROPSEY and referred to the Committee on Economic Development and Regulatory Reform.
A bill to amend 1966 PA 291, entitled
"Firefighters training council act,"
by amending section 9 (MCL 29.369), as amended by 2006 PA 213.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 9. (1) The state fire marshal, with the approval of the
council, shall prepare and publish standards with due consideration
to varying factors and special requirements of organized fire
departments in the following areas:
(a) Advisory standards of physical, educational, mental and
moral fitness, which shall govern the recruitment, selection, and
appointment of firefighters.
(b) The approval by the council of firefighter training
schools. The standards shall address, at least, the following
issues:
(i) The qualification and certification of instructors.
(ii) The courses of study, attendance, record-keeping
requirements, equipment, and facilities.
(iii) The visitation and evaluation of instructors and schools.
(c) The establishment of subordinate regional training centers
in strategic geographic locations in order to serve the greatest
number of organized fire departments that are unable to support
their own training programs.
(2) Each organized fire department shall file a statement with
the council designating at least 1 training officer or training
coordinator for the fire department. If a training officer or
training coordinator is changed, the organized fire department,
within 7 days of the change, shall file a statement notifying the
council of the change.
(3) The council shall develop and provide to each organized
fire department, upon request of the organized fire department and
at no charge, a videotape, digital video disc, or other electronic
form of video display to be used in training firefighters. The
videotape, digital video disc, or other electronic form of video
display shall not include training that requires a practical
demonstration. The videotape, digital video disc, or other
electronic form of video display shall be based on the standards
for fire fighter I and fire fighter II set forth in "standard for
fire fighter professional qualifications", national fire protection
association standard no. 1001, 2002 edition. The council may impose
a reasonable fee for loss, damage, or late return of a videotape,
digital video disc, or other electronic form of video display
provided to an organized fire department under this subsection.
(4) The state fire marshal, with the approval of the council,
shall develop and administer an examination, which shall include a
practical demonstration, a written or oral test, or a combination
thereof, to determine a person's competency in regard to the
knowledge and skill requirements set forth in standards for fire
fighter I and fire fighter II set forth in "standard for fire
fighter professional qualifications", national fire protection
association standard no. 1001, 2002 edition. The council, upon the
request of an organized fire department, shall administer the
examination in each county at least once every year. The
examination shall be administered in 2 parts. Part 1 shall test the
knowledge and skill requirements set forth in fire fighter I, and
part 2 shall test the knowledge and skill requirements set forth in
fire fighter II. The examination may be retaken, as necessary, upon
request from an organized fire department.
(5) The council may charge to each person taking the
examination a reasonable fee in an amount not to exceed the actual
cost of administering the examination. An examination fee collected
under this subsection shall be retained by the council to defray
the expenses of the office in carrying out its duties under
subsections (3) and (4).
(6) (5)
Within 12 months after a person's
hiring date as a
full-time firefighter, the person must pass both part 1 and part 2
of the examination to be eligible for continued or permanent full-
time employment as a firefighter.
(7) A person who successfully complied with subsection (6) and
was employed full-time as a firefighter, but subsequently
discontinued his or her employment as a full-time firefighter for a
period of not less than 5 years, is not eligible to resume
employment full-time as a firefighter until he or she again passes
both part 1 and part 2 of the examination.
(8) (6)
Within 24 months after a person's
appointment date as
a volunteer or paid on-call firefighter, a person must pass part 1
of the examination to be eligible for continued volunteer or paid
on-call service as a firefighter.
(9) (7)
The examination described in this
section shall does
not
apply to a either of the
following:
(a) A person who is employed or under appointment as a
firefighter on October 1, 1988, unless the person subsequently
changes his or her status from a volunteer or paid on-call
firefighter to a full-time firefighter.
(b) A person who has been certified as a trained firefighter
by the national board on fire service professional qualifications
or the international fire services accreditation congress and who,
within the 2-year period immediately preceding the person's hiring
date as a paid on-call firefighter or full-time firefighter in this
state, was employed as a firefighter in another state or was
assigned duties as a firefighter, firefighter instructor, or fire
officer in the military forces.
(10) (8)
The state fire marshal, with the
approval of the
council, shall review and monitor the state and federal standards
relating to live fire training exercises in structures and make
recommendations to the general industry safety standards commission
for any new or modified standard s necessary for the protection of
firefighter trainees.