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EMS and TCFP
Medical certification required before fire suppression duty assignments
As of Nov. 15, 2003, Texas fire protection personnel who work for a commission-regulated entity must hold medical certification before being assigned to fire suppression duties.
The medical certification requirement can be met in one of four ways:
- current certification by the Texas Department of Health (TDH) as an emergency care attendant (ECA), or higher levels of certification recognized by TDH, such as EMT or paramedic certification;
- certification from the American Red Cross of completion of their emergency response course;
- current medical certification from the National Registry; or
- current medical certification from another jurisdiction deemed equivalent by the commission.
This rule is a substantive change under §423.1 of the Standard Manual for Fire Protection Personnel. Previously, fire protection personnel were required to hold a medical certification in order to get their fire suppression certification. However, fire fighters could be assigned to duties in a temporary/probationary status for one year while completing the certification requirements. In other words, they could perform fire protection duties before they had their medical training.
Now, however, fire protection personnel must have the medical certification before they can ride the truck. They still have a year from the initial appointment date to get their fire fighter certificate, but they cannot perform fire protection duties without having the medical certification.
Considerable debate at the October commission meeting proceeded the final adoption of this rule, and the final vote was 6-5-1. The issue for many is not whether a fire fighter should have the medical training--there is broad support and agreement that they should--but whether holding the certification is critical. Many in the fire service feel that options for getting the certification are limiting, or that requiring it imposes additional requirements on departments that don't do emergency medical responses; others feel that medical training should be incorporated into the basic academies, while not necessarily requiring the certificate.
The rule change, however, had strong support from union representatives at the October meeting, and the motion for final adoption carried. The commission also directed the fire fighter advisory committee to look into how to incorporate the medical training into the academies.