Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 19 - Department of Insurance › Part 101 - Mississippi Fire Personnel Minimum Standards and Certification Board › Chapter 1 - Rules and Regulations for Minimum Standards Certification (MSCB-1) › Rule 19-101-1.04 - Scope of Certification

Current through June 25, 2024
The requirement for MSCB certification applies to Mississippi
				  fire personnel employed after January 1, 1991 in a full-time or less than full
				  time capacity by a local governmental fire-fighting unit and working in a
				  cumulative time of two thousand eight hundred (2800) compensated hours.
The term fire personnel shall be applied to any employee
				  whose primary job function involves the delivery of fire suppression and rescue
				  services. This definition does not include employees whose principle fire
				  service duties involve the driving and operation of apparatus, supervision of
				  other personnel, training, or department administration. A local governmental
				  fire-fighting unit shall be defined as any organization established or
				  contracted by a city, county, or state political authority to provide fire
				  suppression and rescue services within a specific jurisdiction, district, or
				  other legally recognized geographic boundary.
Miss. Code §
										45-11-203
provides an
				  exclusion or "grandfather clause" for fire personnel employed with a local
				  fire-fighting unit prior to January 1, 1991. Such personnel are not required to
				  meet the requirements of the MSCB. As the sole qualifying factor, this act does
				  not provide for any exemption based on prior years of service. The local
				  firefighting unit may request grandfather status for fire personnel employed
				  prior to January 1, 1991, who worked a minimum of two thousand eight hundred
				  (2800) compensated hours per year, for state certification equivalent to the
				  appropriate level of NFPA Professional Qualification Standard. Grandfather
				  status is not applicable to personnel employed after January 1, 1991.
The exclusion offered through the grandfather clause is valid
				  so long as the eligible person does not have a break in service with a fire
				  service agency for more than two (2) years. If a grandfathered or previously
				  MSCB certified person leaves the fire service and does not serve with a fire
				  service agency within two (2) years but no more than five (5) years, the person
				  must successfully complete the Mississippi Trainee Agility Test (MSTAT) program
				  and the MSCB approved certification examination. If a grandfathered or
				  previously MSCB certified person leaves the fire service and does not serve
				  with a fire service agency within five (5) years, the person will be considered
				  a new entry and must successfully complete the entire minimum standards
				  training and certification process.
Mississippi fire personnel who serve in a non-paid capacity
				  may choose to voluntarily meet the MSCB certification requirements through the
				  same procedures established for compensated fire personnel.
All Mississippi fire personnel meeting the minimum standard
				  certification requirements shall be certified by the Board provided they have
				  not been convicted of a felony. However, a felon may petition the Board for
				  certification by providing evidence to demonstrate that such illegal act(s) are
				  no longer detrimental to the public trust nor create an impairment or adverse
				  perception of the fire fighter's ability to perform his or her sworn duties,
				  and are otherwise not specifically and directly related to the duties and
				  responsibilities for the performance of fire-fighting and rescue services.
				  After receipt of complete and appropriate documentation related to the felony
				  conviction, to be provided by the petitioner, the Board shall make a
				  determination whether certification of the individual would be detrimental to
				  the public trust or create an impairment or adverse perception of the fire
				  fighter's ability to perform his or her sworn duties. The Board shall use the
				  "clear and convincing standard of proof" in examining the following
				  factors:
(a) The nature and
				seriousness of the crime for which the individual was convicted;
(b) The passage of time since the commission
				of the crime;
(c) The relationship
				of the crime to the ability, capacity, and fitness required to perform the
				duties and discharge the responsibilities of the occupation of fire-fighting
				and rescue services; and
(d) Any
				evidence of rehabilitation or treatment undertaken by the individual that might
				mitigate against a direct relationship to the occupation of fire-fighting and
				rescue services.
Documentation for the felony criminal conviction(s) which
				  must be provided to the Board by the petitioner should normally include, at a
				  minimum, a copy of the felony indictment, order of conviction and sentencing,
				  and evidence showing the successful completion of the sentence including any
				  terms of probation or parole.
Miss. Code
				  §§
										45-11-203; 45-11-253; (Supp.
				  2020)