Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 205 - RULES OF FIREFIGHTER STANDARDS AND TRAINING COUNCIL, GEORGIA
Chapter 205-1 - ORGANIZATION
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

(1) "Airport" means any airport located in this state which has regularly scheduled commercial air carrier service or commuter airline service as required for certification under Section 139.49 of the Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

(2) "Airport Firefighter" means any person assigned to any airport located in this state that performs the duties of aircraft fire fighting or rescue.

(3) "Authority Having Jurisdiction" or "AHJ" means an organization, office, or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation, or a procedure.

(4) "Candidate" means a prospective firefighter who has not yet been certified by the Council as having met the requirements of this chapter.

(5) "Certified" means any individual requiring state certification who has been certified as having met the requirements established by the Council.

(6) "Certified Firefighter" means any firefighter who has been certified by the Council as having met the requirements of this chapter.

(7) "Compensation" means paid on an hourly or salaried basis.

(8) "Continued Annual Training" means the professional development training needed to meet minimum requirements to maintain certification(s)/qualification each calendar year as approved by the Fire Chief.

(9) "Continued Certification" means having met the minimum professional development training required each calendar year for those individuals who are certified by the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council to maintain their certification(s).

(10) "Council" means for the purpose of these Rules and Regulations the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council.

(11) "Decertification" means an adverse action taken by the Council to revoke an individual's certification when the individual commits any act in violation of Georgia State Law and Rules & Regulations of the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council.

(12) "Designee" means the representative designated by the Fire Chief to deal with matters of the Council.

(13) "Evaluator" means an individual approved and trained by GFSTC to observe candidates as they perform during a skills evaluation.

(14) "Executive Director" means for the purpose of this Chapter the Executive Director of the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council.

(15) "Explorer Program" means a program for older youth 14-20 years old that offers hands-on and interactive character and career activities facilitated by fire service personnel from the local community.

(16) "External Validation" means a validation conducted by GFSTC Staff and qualified representatives of local fire departments to ensure that questions in the test instrument are legitimate and can be found in the instructional materials used in the training program for which the students are seeking certification.

(17) "Fire and Life Safety Educator" means a person who is trained to deliver fire and life safety training programs to the general public.

(18) "Fire Chief" means the Chief Commanding Officer of a Fire Department that is either Qualified Volunteer Suppression for volunteer departments or State Certified Firefighter for career and combination departments.

(19) "Fire Department" means any department, agency, organization, or company operating in this state with the intent and purpose of carrying out the duties, functions, powers, and responsibilities normally associated with a fire department and which is authorized to exercise the general and emergency powers enumerated in O.C.G.A. 25-3-1 and 25-3-2.

These duties, functions, powers, and responsibilities include but are not limited to the protection of life and property against fire, explosions, or other hazards.

(20) "Fire Department Training Officer" means the person responsible for administrative work in planning, organizing, coordinating, and directing training activities of the Fire Department.

(21) "Firefighter" means any able-bodied person at least 18 years of age who has been duly appointed by a legally constituted Fire Department and who has the responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires, protecting life and property, and performing other duties enumerated in O.C.G.A. 25-3-1 and 25-3-2.

(22) "Fire Inspector" means a person who is trained to perform fire and life safety inspections of all types of new construction and existing occupancies.

(23) "Fire Investigator" means a person who is trained to investigate and determine fire cause and origin.

(24) "Fire Service Instructor" means the person responsible for delivering instruction effectively from prepared materials at the direction, and often under the supervision, of the Fire Department Training Officer.

(25) "Full-time" or "Career" means employed for compensation on a basis of at least 40 hours per week by any municipal, county, state, or private incorporated fire department.

(26) "Georgia Fire Academy" or "GFA" means a division of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center that is responsible for training fire service personnel.

(27) "GFSTC" means the Executive Director and personnel of the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council.

(28) "GFSTC Staff" means the personnel who work under the direction of the Executive Director.

(29) "Good Standing" means a person complied with all of their explicit obligations while not being subject to any form of sanction, suspension, or disciplinary censure.

(30) "Hot Zone" means the area immediately surrounding a hazardous incident, which extends far enough to prevent adverse effects to individuals outside the area.

(31) "Inmate Firefighter" means an individual currently serving a sentence as a Georgia Department of Corrections inmate and currently enrolled, or who has successfully completed, the Georgia Department of Corrections Inmate Firefighter training program, and is recognized by the Georgia Department of Corrections as such.

(32) "Instructor Guide" means instructional materials, including lesson plans, Powerpoint (or similar presentation media), and handouts, used by an instructor to deliver information and skills to students.

(33) "Internal Validation" means a validation conducted by GFSTC and GFA Staff before an external validation to ensure that information contained in an Instructor Guide matches questions in the test bank.

(34) "Live Fire Training" means a structure fire control class conducted by the Georgia Fire Academy or a structure fire control class conducted at another location where at least one qualified instructor has completed a live fire instructor course conducted in accordance with the current edition of NFPA 1403.

(35) "Open Enrollment" means a test event at the GFSTC office or a regional test center that is open to any member of a legally organized Georgia fire department who has met the requirements to take the test.

(36) "Part-time" means employed for compensation for an average of less than 30 hours per week by any municipal, county, state, or private incorporated fire department.

(37) "Pathway Program" means a firefighter training program conducted in a Georgia high school and sponsored by a compliant Georgia fire department as approved by the Council.

(38) "Probation" means an action taken by Council when certified personnel commit acts in violation of the Rules & Regulations and/or Policy & Procedures of the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council.

(39) "Proctor" means an individual approved and trained by GFSTC to supervise and administer a written, skills or online test event.

(40) "Professional Development" means training that meets a national or state standard, or addresses a specific area of local service delivery (this does not include daily duties such as maintenance, territory study, equipment checks, etc., unless it is for a recruit or probationary personnel) and performed in a classroom, at a conference, a drill field setting, etc. with instruction by an individual deemed to be qualified by the fire chief/designee.

(41) "Qualified" means that the recruit has completed required training and testing and that the fire department has submitted necessary paperwork to GFSTC verifying that the recruit has met the necessary requirements as approved by the Council.

(42) "Recertification" means restoring the certification(s) to those individuals who have lost their certification(s).

(43) "Reciprocity" means the process of reviewing training documentation provided to GFSTC by a candidate or a department requesting the opportunity to enter a training program at the next higher level above the level being requested or credit for prior training to be considered toward qualification/certification requirements.

(44) "Records Review" means a review of records developed at the local fire department to be maintained and available for review upon request by GFSTC.

(45) "Recruit" means a prospective firefighter or student in technical college, private school, high school, enrolled in an approved Pathway Program or Explorer Program who has not yet been certified or qualified by the Council as having met the requirements of O.C.G.A. 25-4 and these Rules & Regulations.

(46) "Regional Test Center" means a location that has the facilities to conduct written and/or online tests.

(47) "Regional Test Site" means a location that has the facilities and equipment to conduct skills evaluations along with written and/or online tests.

(48) "Registered" means that the department has added the individual to their roster on the GFSTC database.

(49) "Registered Status" means an individual's information as listed in the GFSTC database.

(50) "Request for Hearing" means a clear written expression by the affected party or authorized representative on his/her behalf to indicate that he/she wants the opportunity to contest his/her case.

(51) "Re-Registration" means restoring the registered status to those individuals who have lost their registered status.

(52) "Suspension" means an action taken by GFSTC when non-certified personnel commit acts in violation of Rules & Regulations and/or Policy & Procedures of the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council.

(53) "Test Bank" means the computer program containing all of the questions used to develop a certification test.

(54) "Test Event" means any written, skills, online or oral test occurrence administered by GFSTC Staff or Proctors approved by GFSTC.

(55) "Test Instrument" means a written, skills or other approved evaluation method(s).

(56) "Trained to the Level Of" means that the candidate has met all of the requirements of a course and has been tested by GFSTC.

(57) "Validation" means the process of confirming that the information in test banks and instructor guides match.

(58) "Volunteer" means not employed for compensation but appointed, registered with the GFSTC, and enrolled to serve as a firefighter for any municipal, county, state, or private incorporated fire department.

(59) "Volunteer Support Firefighter" means a firefighter who has been registered with the GFSTC, trained to the level of Volunteer Support Firefighter and passed the Volunteer Support Firefighter test and Hazardous Materials Awareness written and skills tests as specified by the Council. Volunteer Support Firefighters are not trained or qualified to perform duties in the Hot Zone.

(60) "Volunteer Suppression Firefighter" means a firefighter who has been registered with the GFSTC, trained to the level of Volunteer Suppression Firefighter and passed the Volunteer Suppression Firefighter tests, to include live structure fire training, and Hazardous Materials Awareness written and skills tests as specified by the Council.