1. (a) In order to be certified as a Fire Officer IV an individual must:

   1. (1) hold certification as Structural Fire Protection Personnel, Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Personnel, or Marine Fire Protection Personnel; and
   2. (2) hold Fire Officer III certification through the commission; and
   3. (3) document completion of ICS-400: Advanced Incident Command System; and
   4. (4) possess valid documentation of accreditation from the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress as Fire Officer IV; or

   5. (5) complete a commission approved Fire Officer IV program and successfully pass the commission examination as specified in Chapter 439 of this title (relating to Examinations for Certification). An approved Fire Officer IV program must consist of one of the following:

      1. (A) completion of a commission approved Fire Officer IV Curriculum as specified in Chapter 9 of the commission's Certification Curriculum Manual;
      2. (B) completion of an out-of-state and/or military training program that has been submitted to the commission for evaluation and found to be equivalent to or exceed the commission approved Fire Officer IV Curriculum; or

      3. (C) successful attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution in any of the following:

         1. (i) Fire Science/Administration/Management
         2. (ii) Emergency Management
         3. (iii) Public Administration
         4. (iv) Emergency Medicine
         5. (v) Business Management/Administration
         6. (vi) Political Science
         7. (vii) Human Resources Management
         8. (viii) Public Health
         9. (ix) Risk Management
         10. (x) Criminal Justice; or
         11. (xi) a related management/administration/leadership degree.
   6. (6) Special temporary provision: Within one year following the effective date of this rule, an individual is eligible to take the commission examination for Fire Officer IV upon documentation to the commission that the individual has completed training that covers the requirements of NFPA 1021, Chapter 7. The documentation of completed training must be a certificate of completion from a nationally recognized training provider. During the one year period, the commission examination shall consist of a written exam. The examination requirements in §451.405(b) of this subchapter (relating to Examination Requirements) must still be met. This paragraph expires one year from the effective date of this rule.
   7. (7) The application processing fee for the initial examination is waived for individuals in paragraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection who have completed the training requirement and submit the application for the commission examination for one year from the effective date of this rule. After this date, the application processing fee for examinations will be required.
2. (b) Out-of-state or military training programs which are submitted to the commission for the purpose of determining equivalency will be considered equivalent if all competencies set forth in Chapter 9 (pertaining to Fire Officer) of the commission's Certification Curriculum Manual are met.

Source Note:The provisions of this §451.403 adopted to be effective February 28, 2013, 38 TexReg 1220.