1. (a) Applicants for Advanced Arson Investigator certification must complete the following requirements:

   1. (1) hold as a prerequisite an Intermediate Arson Investigator Certification as defined in §431.5 of this title (relating to Minimum Standards for Intermediate Arson Investigator Certification);

   2. (2) acquire a minimum of eight years of fire protection experience and complete the requirements listed in one of the following options:

      1. (A) Option 1--Successfully complete six semester hours of fire science or fire technology from an approved Fire Protection Degree Program and submit documentation as required by the commission that the courses comply with subsections (c) and (d) of this section; or
      2. (B) Option 2--Complete a minimum of 96 hours of instruction in any National Fire Academy courses; or
      3. (C) Option 3--Successfully complete three semester hours of college courses listed in Option 1 and a minimum of 48 hours in any National Fire Academy courses; or
      4. (D) Option 4--Advanced Arson for Profit (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms resident or field course, 80 hours); or
      5. (E) Option 5--Successfully complete any combination of courses that lead to International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) certification that total 96 recommended hours or more in the commission curricula. Evidence of completion of the appropriate courses shall be a certification from the commission or a valid documentation from another jurisdiction of accreditation from IFSAC. Option 5 may not be combined with any of the above options to obtain this certification. See exception outlined in subsection (d) of this section; or
      6. (F) Option 6--Hold current Advanced Peace Officer certification from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) with four additional law enforcement courses applicable for fire investigations. See exception outlined in subsection (d) of this section.
2. (b) College level courses from both the upper and lower division may be used to satisfy the education requirement for Advanced Arson Investigator Certification.
3. (c) Non-traditional credit awarded at the college level, such as credit for experience or credit by examination obtained from attending any school in the commission's Certification Curriculum Manual or for experience in the fire service, may not be counted toward higher levels of certification.
4. (d) The training required in this section must be in addition to any training used to qualify for any lower level of Arson Investigator Certification. Repeating a course or course of similar content cannot be used towards higher levels of certification.

Source Note:The provisions of this §431.7 adopted to be effective November 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 10897; amended to be effective July 29, 2002, 27 TexReg 6724; amended to be effective December 24, 2002, 27 TexReg 12007; amended to be effective November 15, 2003, 28 TexReg 9885.