BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 398
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 398 (Morrell) - As Introduced: February 14, 2011
Policy Committee: Governmental
Organization Vote: 16 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to accept
certification by the United States Department of Defense (DoD)
as a firefighter as an alternative for basic SFM training and
certification standards for the position of Firefighter I of the
California Fire Service Training and Education Program (CFSTEP).
FISCAL EFFECT
Costs of up to $75,000 for additional workload associated with
the SFM reviewing and evaluating the validity of the training
represented by the certificate to ensure that it meets
California's mandated requirements. �State Fire Marshal
Licensing and Certification Fund]
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . According to the author, military service members
who have served the armed forces in the area of fire
protection have received extensive training from the DoD under
the Fire and Emergency Services Certification Program. It is
the intent of this bill to ease some of the burden to service
members in their search for employment by allowing the State
Fire Marshal to accept this DoD training as equivalent to
Firefighter I, which is the basic certification required for a
firefighter in the state of California. Current law does not
address the issue of training redundancy for individuals
already certified by DoD.
2)Background . Under current law, an individual wishing to work
as a firefighter in California must obtain a Firefighter I
AB 398
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certification that meets the requirements of CFSTEP. In order
to be eligible for that certification an individual must
complete 650 hours of training designed to provide both
volunteer and career fire fighters with hands-on training in
firefighting, extrication, rescue, emergency vehicle
operations, pump operations, and the Incident Command System.
In addition, the training includes California-specific
mandates, including the California Division of Occupational
Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) required training in hazardous
materials, blood borne pathogens, and confined space rescue.
Those mandates may not be included in the DoD firefighter
training.
The program was created to establish coordination among the
various elements that contribute to the development, delivery,
and administration of training for the California fire
service, as a whole. The objective of the program is to
provide a single statewide focus for fire service training in
California.
The course is delivered through registered instructors and may
be custom tailored by the instructor to meet a department's
specific needs. Upon successful completion of a course, the
instructor will issue a California State Fire Marshal's
certificate of completion to the student.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081