Requirements for Chiefs of Departments where that department employs six (6) or more paid fire fighters
(Does not distinguish full or part time paid, and includes both paid and volunteer chiefs)
Purpose: Minimum qualifications for fire chiefs subject to Civil Service Law, section 58-a and General Municipal Law, section 204-dd.
Text of proposed rule: 19 NYCRR Part 426.9(h) is amended to read as follows:
(h) For Supervisory Level V (chief of department level responsibilities) [under development.] a person shall:
- possess Fire Officer 3 certification, pursuant to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1021 Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications, 2014 Edition, or possess the training, education, experience, or combination thereof, determined by the State Fire Administrator to meet the requirements of Civil Service Law section 58-a; and
- meet the minimum qualifications established by the local civil service agency having jurisdiction; and
- meet the core competencies for incident commander established by the State Fire Administrator, pursuant to General Municipal Law section 204-dd and 9 NYCRR Part 227. A new Part 227 is added to title 9 of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations to read as follows: Qualifications of a Fire Chief. 227.1 Authority, intent and purpose. (a) Statutory authority: General Municipal Law Section 204-dd; (b) The intent and purpose of this part is to establish minimum qualifications for a fire chief in any fire department or fire company that employs six (6) or more paid fire fighters in the State of New York. 227.2 Definitions. (a) The term “fire chief” mean the person who is head of the department or any title or rank that includes the duties of fire chief in any fire department or fire company with six (6) or more paid fire fighters. (b) The term “fire fighter” means a member of a fire department whose duties include fire service as the phrase fire service is defined in paragraph d of subdivision eleven of section three hundred two of the retirement and social security law.
227.3 Qualifications of a fire chief
(a) To eligible for appointment or election as a fire chief he or she must meet the core competencies for incident commander established by the State Fire Administrator.
(b) The Office of Fire Prevention and Control shall post and keep current the core competencies for incident commander on its official website.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from: Kenneth Bruno, Deputy Counsel, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, 1220 Washington Avenue, Building 7A, Albany, New York 12242, (518) 242-5000, email: [email protected] Data, views or arguments may be submitted to: Same as above. Public comment will be received until: 60 days after publication of this notice.
According to the Best Practices, Incident Commander core competency qualifications can be met by taking the following:
NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control
- Fire Officer I (2009) (Competencies 1 – 20 and 22) and ICS-200 (Competency 21)
Web Link Here: http://www.dhses.ny.gov/ofpc/training/firefighting-best-practices.cfm