4765-24-03. Qualifications for a fire charter

[Comment: For dates and availability of material incorporated by reference in this rule see rule 4765-25-02 of the Administrative Code.]

(A) The executive director, with advice and counsel of the committee, shall issue a charter to provide firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor courses, in accordance with the classifications set forth in rule 4765-24-02 of the Administrative Code, to a training institution that satisfies all the following requirements:

(1) Submits a completed "Fire Charter Application" to the division;

(2) Possesses a good reputation, as defined in rule 4765-25-01 of the Administrative Code;

(3) Has an authorizing official with a good reputation who assumes ultimate responsibility for all aspects of the program;

(4) Offers firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor courses that satisfy the curriculum requirements as set forth in this chapter;

(5) Establishes an advisory committee that shall meet at least one time each year based on the charter cycle and includes a minimum of five individuals consisting of the program director, fire chiefs, instructors, and others from the fire community;

(6) Utilizes individuals who hold a valid and current certificate to teach in accordance with Chapter 4765-21 of the Administrative Code;

(a) Instructors shall be employed or contracted by the chartered program; and

(b) Instructors shall only teach courses at or below the level of an instructor's fire training certificate.

(7) Has a sufficient number of fire instructors to ensure that the ratio of students to instructors does not exceed five to one during all practical skills instruction or evaluation;

(8) For all approved classifications, possesses, or has access through current and valid affiliation agreements, to equipment, apparatus, burn facilities, props, and supplies that are necessary to instruct and test all course performance objectives, meet current standards, and are in a sufficient quantity for the number of students and instructors participating in each course:

(a) Ensures all equipment, burn facilities, and apparatus are inspected and maintained in accordance with manufacturers' recommendations;

(b) Ensures all, burn facilities and apparatus are in compliance with applicable NFPA standards, including but not limited to:

(i) Personal protective clothing shall be inspected, maintained, and tested in accordance with applicable requirements of "NFPA 1851";

(ii) Self-contained breathing apparatus shall be inspected, maintained, and tested in accordance with applicable requirements of "NFPA 1852";

(iii) Fire apparatus, fire pumps, and aerial devices shall be inspected, maintained, and tested in accordance with applicable requirements of "NFPA 1911";

(iv) Live burn facilities shall be constructed, inspected, and maintained in accordance with applicable requirements of "NFPA 1403";

(v) Fire hose shall be inspected and tested in accordance with applicable requirements of "NFPA 1962";

(vi) Fire extinguishers shall be inspected and tested in accordance with applicable requirements of "NFPA 10";

(vii) Ground ladders shall be inspected and service tested in accordance with applicable requirements of "NFPA 1932";

(9) Has sufficient classroom and laboratory facilities to accommodate the number of students participating in each course;

(10) Has a computer lab, or has access to a computer lab through an affiliation agreement, that meets the requirements as set forth in rule 4765-24-20 of the Administrative Code;

(11) Has comprehensive current publications, media resources, and electronic resources relating to fire services, as well as the minimum curriculum for firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor courses as established under section 4765.55 of the Revised Code and this chapter;

(12) Has and maintains one fixed geographic location within the boundaries of the state of Ohio where a chartered program is operated and where training is conducted, including an office in a fixed geographic location where records are maintained. Such location shall not consist of a house trailer, residence, tent, temporary stand, rooming house, apartment, post office box, or in a room in a hotel or motel;

(13) Provides classroom environments that are safe, sanitary, and conducive to learning;

(14) Possesses financial resources that are sufficient for the operation of the program in the manner set forth in the application for a charter;

(15) Has written policies approved by its advisory committee and made available to each student that include all of the following:

(a) Methodology used in determining grades;

(b) Methodology used to document missed hours and record makeup procedures for completing all course hours;

(c) Criteria for successful completion of the training course;

(d) Grounds for dismissal from the course;

(e) Disciplinary and grievance procedures including mechanism for appeals;

(f) Procedures for voluntary student withdrawals from the course;

(g) Procedures for refunding tuition payments;

(h) Admission requirements;

(i) Requirements or restrictions regarding student attire;

(j) Costs associated with the training course, including tuition, materials, and fees;

(k) Information regarding course schedules, content, and objectives;

(l) Prohibition against discrimination towards students on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or national origin;

(m) Prohibition against students being assigned emergency response duties during scheduled classroom instruction or practical training during firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, or instructor training;

(n) Procedures for reporting accidents and injuries sustained during a course;

(o) Procedures for conducting live fire training that meet the current edition of "NFPA 1403";

(p) Procedures to follow during extreme weather conditions;

(q) Requirements that equipment, apparatus, burn facilities, props, and supplies meet the current editions of NFPA as required in paragraph (A)(8) of this rule;

(r) Security parameters that protect the students' financial and personal information in accordance with state and federal laws;

(s) Healthcare services available to students by or through the chartered program.

(B) In addition to the requirements set forth in paragraph (A) of this rule, a training institution issued a charter under section 4765.55 of the Revised Code and this chapter shall:

(1) Conduct at least one course at each authorized classification level per cycle.

(a) Conducting a firefighter course at the highest approved classification level fulfills the requirement to teach firefighter courses at lower classification levels.

(b) Conducting a fire safety inspector course fulfills the requirement to teach a hazard recognition officer course.

(2) Submit each course request to the division for approval at least fourteen days prior to the start of each course to include the following: course type, start date, location, lead instructor, skills coordinator, and class schedule with topics and student contact hours;

(3) Assure compliance with examination administration requirements as specified in rules 4765-24-20 and 4765-24-21 of the Administrative Code;

(4) Require each student enrolled in a firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, fire instructor, fire safety inspector instructor, or live fire instructor course to have course materials that meet the course objectives as set forth in this chapter of the Administrative Code;

(5) Require student attendance in accordance with the following:

(a) Attendance is required in all firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor courses;

(b) All absences from a scheduled class shall be documented;

(c) Any absences from a scheduled class shall be made up and accurately documented in a manner approved by the program director.

(6) Keep accurate attendance records for each course in a manner acceptable to the program director;

(7) Complete accident and injury reports required for all accidents or injuries occurring during a training course, regardless of hospitalization;

(8) Provide regular evaluations of student performance and achievement throughout each course including written and practical skills examinations as set forth in rules 4765-24-20 and 4765-24-21 of the Administrative Code ;

(9) Use performance objective check-off sheets approved by the executive director to document completion of course objectives;

(10) Ensure each student meets all course completion requirements prior to issuance of a certificate of course completion ;

(11) Issue a certificate of course completion to each student who meets all course completion requirements;

(12) Require that all students are notified of the process and time lines for obtaining a firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, or instructor certificate issued by the executive director pursuant to section 4765.55 of the Revised Code and Chapters 4765-20 and 4765-21 of the Administrative Code;

(13) Require each student to conduct written evaluations of instructor performance for each course;

(14) Require the program director to conduct written evaluations of each instructor's performance for at least one course per charter cycle within each classification taught using the following guidelines;

(a) Evaluating an instructor teaching a firefighter course at the highest level fulfills the requirement to evaluate an instructor at the lower classification levels.

(b) The program director may delegate instructor evaluations to a fire instructor trainer as long as the program director approves the evaluation.

(15) Conduct written evaluations of the courses including content of each course;

(16) Allow access by the division to student firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor training records to verify successful completion of all certification requirements as set forth in Chapters 4765-20, 4765-21, and this chapter of the Administrative Code;

(17) Allow the division to review instructor records in order to verify compliance with Chapter 4765-21 of the Administrative Code;

(18) Allow the division to review program materials and monitor the testing processes utilized by the chartered program;

(19) Allow site inspections by the division;

(20) Maintain written or electronic documentation of compliance with this chapter, for all courses required for state certification ;

(21) The following information for each class, as appropriate per classification, shall be required documentation:

(a) Lesson plans, course schedules, course locations, and policies in compliance with this chapter;

(b) Evaluations of instructors' and students' performance;

(c) Attendance records for each course conducted by the chartered program demonstrating completion of required hours;

(d) Accident and injury reports;

(e) Completed check-off sheets documenting that each student met required course objectives;

(f) Documentation of current and valid student and instructor certificates including, but not limited to, firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor certificates, as applicable;

(g) Affiliation agreements as set forth in this rule;

(h) Documentation of compliance with admission requirements for all courses required for state certification including, but not limited to, firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor courses;

(i) The minutes of advisory committee meetings including an agenda, discussion of issues, and attendance record for each meeting that is conducted in accordance with this rule;

(j) Documentation of compliance with "NFPA 1403" on live fire training to include, but not limited to:

(i) Burn facility inspection records;

(ii) Burn facility maintenance records;

(iii) Burn building floor plans;

(iv) Burn facility site plans;

(v) Pre-burn and post-burn procedures;

(vi) Student prerequisites;

(vii) Instructor, student, support personnel, and apparatus assignments, to include rest and rehabilitation, for each evolution;

(viii) Written learning objectives for all evolutions;

(ix) Temperature monitoring of all live burn evolutions;

(x) Instructor to student ratio.

(k) Documentation of student completion of "National Incident Management System Course IS-700" and "National Incident Management System Course ICS-100" or the online equivalent;

(l) Documentation of student completion of an approved emergency vehicle operations course;

(m) Documentation of student completion of an approved hazardous materials awareness and operations course;

(n) Documentation of completion of "Courage to be Safe: Sixteen Life Safety Initiatives Course";

(o) Documentation of student completion of minimum emergency medical care performance capabilities as required by "NFPA 1001 " chapter 1;

(p) State knowledge and practical skills examination documentation for each student;

(q) Compliance with all written policies and procedures.

(C) In addition to the requirements set forth in paragraphs (A) and (B) of this rule, a training institution issued a charter under section 4765.55 of the Revised Code and this chapter, during the charter cycle for each classification held, shall meet one of the following:

(1) Not less than sixty-five per cent of the training program's students who take the written portion of the initial certification examination shall receive a passing score on their first attempt to pass the examination, or

(2) Not less than eighty per cent of the training program's students who take the written portion of the initial certification examination shall receive a passing score.

(D) Every twenty-four months the executive director shall review the passing percentage requirement established in this rule to determine whether the requirement needs to be amended.

(E) Secondary school public safety programs shall complete all curricula requirements for firefighter I or firefighter I and II as set forth in rules 4765-24-11 and 4765-24-13 of the Administrative Code, as applicable.

(F) The authorizing official of a training institution shall serve as the program director unless the authorizing official designates a program director with a good reputation who assumes responsibility for program oversight.

(1) The program director shall ensure compliance with this chapter and all rules and laws applicable to the administration of all firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor courses;

(2) The designation of a program director does not alleviate the authorizing official of the responsibility for compliance with this chapter and all rules and laws applicable to the administration of all firefighter, fire safety inspector, hazard recognition officer, and instructor courses.

(G) A charter issued under section 4765.55 of the Revised Code and this chapter shall be valid for three years and may be renewed according to guidelines established in rule 4765-24-05 of the Administrative Code.

(H) A chartered program shall maintain all documentation required in this rule for the duration of the current cycle and two previous charter cycles. Revocation or voluntary surrender of a charter does not alleviate a chartered program of this requirement. In the event of charter or classification expiration, voluntary surrender, or revocation, the chartered program shall maintain all documentation required in this rule for six years from the date the expiration, voluntary surrender, or revocation.

(I) If a chartered program is utilizing a location outside of the state of Ohio, the chartered program shall comply with this chapter of the Administrative Code and any applicable law, rules, or regulations in that state.

Effective: 4/1/2019
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 10/1/2022
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 4765.55
Rule Amplifies: 4765.55
Prior Effective Dates: 05/01/1975, 06/30/1975, 01/01/1989, 01/01/1996, 07/03/1997, 09/25/2000, 06/19/2003, 11/27/2003, 09/30/2004, 09/27/2006 (Emer.), 12/14/2006, 01/24/2008, 04/07/2014, 1/1/2018