1. (a) Procedures for conducting written and/or performance examinations are determined by the commission.

2. (b) The commission shall prescribe the content of any certification examination that tests the knowledge and/or skill of the examinee concerning the discipline addressed by the examination.

   1. (1) An examination based on Chapter 1, "Basic Fire Suppression Curriculum" as identified in the Certification Curriculum Manual may consist of four sections: Fire Fighter I, Fire Fighter II, First Responder Awareness, and First Responder Operations.
   2. (2) An examination based on Chapter 4, "Basic Fire Inspector Curriculum" as identified in the Certification Curriculum Manual may consist of three sections: Inspector I, Inspector II, and Plans Examiner I.
   3. (3) All other state examinations consist of only one section.
3. (c) An individual who fails to pass a commission written examination for state certification will be given one additional opportunity to pass the examination or section thereof. This opportunity must be exercised within 180 days after the date of the first failure. An individual who passes the applicable state certification examination but fails to pass a section thereof for IFSAC seal(s) will be given one additional opportunity to pass the examination or section thereof. This opportunity must be exercised within two years after the date of the first attempt. An examinee who fails to pass the examination within the required time may not sit for the same examination again until the examinee has re-qualified by repeating the curriculum applicable to that examination.

4. (d) To apply for a commission examination, the designated training officer or coordinator of the entity providing the training must have completed and submitted the Course/School Prior Approval Submission Form to the commission 20 calendar days prior to the proposed starting date of the course. Upon commission approval of the course, the commission will tentatively schedule a time and place for the examination. A reasonable attempt shall be made to schedule the examination as soon as possible after the completion of the applicable course and at a place agreeable to the provider of training. The provider of training will receive the following:

   1. (1) Notice of Course Approval--This document will serve as notification that the course has been approved by the commission and will contain the Approval Number assigned by the commission, the course I.D. number and the number of hours approved for the course.
   2. (2) Application for Testing form--The provider of training must have each examinee complete the Application for Testing form and return it to the commission office no later than the tenth day of instruction. In no case may the Application for Testing be submitted less than 14 calendar days prior to the tentatively scheduled examination date. The commission, upon receipt of the Application for Testing form, will confirm the time and place for the examination.
   3. (3) Certificate of Completion form--This form must be completed by the provider of training and issued to each student when the student has successfully completed the applicable curriculum.
5. (e) The provider of training of a Basic Fire Suppression Fire Fighter I academy will receive from the commission at least seven randomly selected performance skill objectives from Section II of the Performance Evaluation Forms that each examinee must successfully complete prior to the commission examination. The provider of training of a Basic Fire Suppression Fire Fighter II academy will receive from the commission at least seven randomly selected performance skill objectives from Section III of the Performance Evaluation Forms that each examinee must successfully complete prior to the commission examination. The provider of training of a Basic Fire Suppression Fire Fighter I and Fire Fighter II combined academy will receive from the commission at least seven randomly selected performance skill objectives from Section II and Section III of the Performance Evaluation Forms that each examinee must successfully complete prior to the commission examination.
6. (f) During the course of instruction, the provider of training, except for a Basic Fire Suppression academy identified in subsection (e) of this section, shall test for competency all performance skills listed in the applicable curriculum. This applies only for curricula in which performance standards have been developed. Retests must be conducted prior to the completion of the course. All skills must be demonstrated before a commission approved field examiner.
7. (g) Commission examinations, or retests, for less than eight (8) examinees must be conducted in Austin, Texas, or other place designated by the commission. The commission must coordinate with the provider of training as to the time of the examination.
8. (h) Commission examinations, or retests, for less than eight (8) examinees must be conducted in accordance with this section, provided that entity providing the training agrees to pay an examination fee equal to the amount that would be charged for eight (8) examinees.
9. (i) If a performance test is part of the commission examination, examinees that are required to take the commission examination in Austin, Texas, or other place designated by the commission, shall be required to furnish a complete set of protective clothing that complies with §435.1 (2) (Relating to Protective Clothing). Examinees are encouraged, but not required, to provide a self-contained breathing apparatus that complies with §435.3 (2) (Relating to Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) that the examinee is familiar with and an extra full cylinder.
10. (j) If the designated training officer or coordinator of the entity providing the training determines that the time and/or place of the examination as set by the commission is not acceptable for good cause, he may request the commission to reschedule or relocate the examination providing the request is received at least 20 days prior to the original scheduled time of the examination or the new proposed time, whichever would result in the earliest notification. The commission shall give all such request due consideration and may reschedule or relocate the examination as necessary.
11. (k) Each examination must be administered by a member of the commission staff known as a "Staff Examiner."
12. (l) The staff examiner may administer the examination alone or with the assistance of one or more additional examiners. The additional examiners shall be known as field examiners and shall be approved by the commission.

13. (m) The staff examiner must:

    1. (1) ensure that the examination remains secure and is conducted under conditions warranting honest results; and
    2. (2) collect all examination materials from any examinee who is dismissed.

14. (n) The staff examiner or field examiner must:

    1. (1) monitor the examination while in progress;
    2. (2) control entrance to and exit from the test site;
    3. (3) permit no one in the room while the written test is in progress except examiners, examinees, and commission staff;
    4. (4) assign or re-assign seating; and
    5. (5) bar admission to or dismiss any examinee who fails to comply with any of the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
15. (o) Examination booklets, answer sheets, scratch paper and grade roster(s) will be delivered to the staff examiner by means specified by the commission. The staff examiner must immediately document any errors detected in the examination materials provided.
16. (p) The staff examiner must remit to the commission all examination booklets, answer sheets and scratch paper in the return container provided by the commission immediately following the completion of the written examination.
17. (q) All official grading and notification must come from the commission. The commission staff must make available to the training officer or coordinator the preliminary test results within seven (7) business days after completion of the examination.
18. (r) If performance skills are required as part of a certification examination, the entity applying for the certification examination shall be responsible for providing the required number of Approved Field Examiners. The number of Field Examiners shall be determined by the commission.
19. (s) Each written examination may have two types of questions: pilot and active. Pilot questions are new questions placed on the examination for statistical purposes only. These questions do not count against an examinee if answered incorrectly.
20. (t) An individual who has documented completion of commission approved Fire Fighter II training will be allowed to take the Basic Fire Suppression Fire Fighter II examination, if it has been less than four years since the individual has passed the commission's Basic Fire Suppression Fire Fighter I written and performance evaluation.

Source Note:The provisions of this §439.5 adopted to be effective November 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 10901; amended to be effective January 1, 2000, 24 TexReg 6097; amended to be effective November 5, 2000, 25 TexReg 10750; amended to be effective December 27, 2001, 26 TexReg 10620; amended to be effective July 29, 2002, 27 TexReg 6725; amended to be effective March 10, 2003, 28 TexReg 2124; amended to be effective September 2, 2003, 28 TexReg 7403; amended to be effective August 5, 2004, 29 TexReg 7455; amended to be effective March 2, 2005, 30 TexReg 1089.