N.J. Admin. Code § 5:71-4.9

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 5:71-4.9 - Organizational, administrative, and operational functions of the Fire Code enforcement educational programs

(a) Programs for the effective education of Code enforcement officials are expected to operate with appropriate purposes and objectives. An institution or organization seeking initial and continuing approval of educational programs shall include in its application clearly defined statements of such purposes and objectives.

(b) Sound educational programs can be operated effectively only when supported by adequate institutional arrangements. Accordingly, only programs offered by or under the auspices of institutions of higher education, licensed by the New Jersey Department of Higher Education, fire schools, or fire training academies operated by Federal, State, county or local government, or non-profit organizations organized for purposes which include the training of fire fighting and Fire Code enforcement personnel, can be considered for approval.

1. Provision shall be made within the organization or institution for orderly methods of obtaining and filing information relative to candidates applying for admission to Code enforcement official education programs.

(c) An organization or institution shall have evaluation procedures to assess the quality of its students when they complete programs and as a minimum establish and apply pass/fail criteria.

(d) An organization or institution shall assure that:

1. Each student shall be advised where to secure guidance and who is officially responsible for his program. Attention must be given to a plan for maintaining desirable student-faculty relationships.

2. It is the responsibility of the institution to maintain an adequate system of student personnel accounting, including a permanent cumulative record of each student enrolled. To facilitate ready interpretation by the Division, the graduate is entitled to an intelligible and adequate transcript of record, including a statement of the course title.

(e) Faculty members shall be competent in the field and have contacts with Fire Code enforcement environments and other sources so their teaching and research are current and relevant.

1. The quality of the faculty is one of the more important factors in judging the effectiveness of an institution. Appraisal of the faculty shall be made in terms of its competence to provide the program for which approval is being sought. Each faculty member shall have a high degree of competency in this area. The faculty consists of those instructors who teach the curricula and all personnel who direct students in all types of activities included as part of the curriculum. Those who teach courses shall be familiar with practices in Fire Code enforcement and/or fire protection technology generally.

2. The institution, recognizing that an appropriate faculty is one of the major determinants of the quality of its education program, shall make provision for the use of the part-timer or adjunct faculty.

i. No individual who has ever had a license suspended for a period of six months or more or has ever had a license or certification revoked for any reason set forth in 5:23-5.11 or 5:71-4.6 shall be eligible to instruct Fire Code enforcement educational programs;

ii. Instructors for the Fire Inspector certification program shall meet the following criteria:

(1) Possess a valid and current Fire Official or Fire Inspector certification issued by the Office of Training and Certification;

(2) Possess five years of code enforcement experience, enforcing the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code or Uniform Construction Code, three years of which must have been enforcing the adopted International Fire Code;

(3) Be currently appointed, or have previously held the position as an "appointed" fire official or fire inspector within a local enforcing agency for a period of not less than two years; and

(4) Possess a valid and current Instructor I or Instructor II certification issued by the Office of Training and Certification or have completed a 40-hour educational methodology program approved by the Office of Training and Certification; and

iii. Subject matter experts can be used to "augment" instructional delivery in specialized code enforcement topics within the training program. The augmented instruction content must be reviewed and approved by the chief instructor of the program prior to delivery.

3. Faculty utilized to teach Fire Inspector or Fire Official Certification Courses shall be currently certified as a Fire Official or Fire Inspector, except that the instructor for Module 7 and Module 11 of the Fire Inspector Certification Course shall also be currently licensed as a Fire Subcode Official HHS or equivalent.

4. Each organization or institution shall undertake a continuing program of faculty and instructor evaluation in order to assure that instruction is adequate and shall take such remedial actions as may be necessary where it is not.

(f) The course of study for Fire Inspector certification shall consist of a planned pattern of instruction and experiences designed to meet the following standards. The course shall provide at least 90 contact hours of instruction not including examination and support time and it shall ensure by examination technical competence in the following subject areas:

1. Module 1: Introduction and History of Code Enforcement:

i. History of Fire Prevention/Code Enforcement; and

ii. Basic fire chemistry;

2. Module 2: The Theory of Fire Code Enforcement:

i. Building and fire codes;

ii. Building classifications; and

iii. Code applications;

3. Module 3: Code Administrative Requirements:

i. Classification of Use Groups;

ii. Uniform Fire Code-NJ Life Hazard Uses;

iii. Relation of Fire Code to Building Code; and

iv. Uniform Construction Code Regulations and Subcodes;

4. Module 4: Legal Aspects of Fire Prevention:

i. Uniform Fire Safety Act Statutes, 52:27D-192; and

ii. Introduction to 5:70-1 and 2 and 5:71-3;

5. Module 5: Referenced Standards:

i. Difference between a Code and a Standard;

ii. When to apply referenced Standards;

iii. How to apply NFPA reference Standards;

iv. Breakdown of NFPA Standards, Guides, and Manuals; and

v. Overview of NFPA Standards, ANSI, ASME, NIOSH, BOCA, ICC;

6. Module 6: Inspection Overview:

i. Ethics and demeanor;

ii. Pre-inspection preparation;

iii. Right of entry and methods;

iv. Interviewing;

v. Documentation methods;

vi. Onsite record reviews;

vii. Sampling and testing;

viii. Report content; and

ix. The inspector as a witness;

7. Module 7: Building Construction and Plan Review:

i. Types of construction as listed in the IBC;

ii. Height and area limitations in the IBC;

iii. Fire resistance ratings;

iv. Methods of fire resistance rating IBC;

v. Continuity of ratings;

vi. Truss construction concepts;

vii. Types of loads (dead, live, fuel);

viii. Load carrying design of beams and columns;

ix. Recognizing construction deficiencies; and

x. Types of plans:

(1) Site plans;

(2) Plot plans;

(3) Architectural plans;

(4) Mechanical plans;

(5) Foundation plans;

(6) Floor plans;

(7) Electrical plans;

(8) Views (plan, elevation, sectional, detail); and

(9) Sprinkler system plans;

8. Module 8: General Fire/Hazard Recognition:

i. Equipment, processes, and storage;

ii. Special events, opening burning/bonfires;

iii. Housekeeping practices, issuance, and permit inspection; and

iv. Principals of electrical hazards (static, dielectric, resistance);

9. Module 9: Occupancy Loads/Means of Egress:

i. Purpose and Importance;

ii. Historical perspectives; and

iii. Components, terms, application;

10. Module 10: Fire Protection Systems:

i. Fire sprinkler systems;

ii. Standpipe systems;

iii. Water supplies and testing;

iv. Fire pumps;

v. Fire alarm systems;

vi. System monitoring;

vii. Hood protection systems;

viii. Smoke removal system; and

ix. Fire extinguishers;

11. Module 11: Fire Protection System Code Requirements:

i. A general review of water based protection systems;

ii. Code requirements pertaining to Fire Protection Systems; and

iii. Uniform Construction Code-NJ various adopted codes and relationships;

12. Module 12: Hazardous Materials:

i. Basic hazardous materials chemistry;

ii. Physical hazards definitions and examples;

iii. Health hazards definitions and examples;

iv. Research materials and MSDS;

v. Relationship to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Transportation, and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection rules and regulations;

vi. Containment systems and methods;

vii. Discharges and local response protocols; and

viii. State Fire Prevention Code Requirements;

13. Module 13: Specific Operations:

i. Fireworks;

ii. Explosives;

iii. Sleep overs;

iv. Paint Spraying;

v. Welding and Cutting; and

vi. Applications of Flammable/Combustible liquids;

14. Module 14: Retrofit Code:

i. History of the Retrofit provisions;

ii. NFPA Life Safety Code 101 background;

iii. Relationship to the Uniform Construction Code;

iv. When Retrofit applies;

v. Historic structures;

vi. Fire protection plans; and

vii. Specific Subchapter 4 requirements;

15. Module 15: Inspection Skills and Tools:

i. Types of inspections;

ii. Purpose of inspections;

iii. Applying the "Three Es" of fire prevention;

iv. Inspection equipment and tools;

v. Inspector health and safety; and

vi. Issuing violation notices;

16. Module 16: Practical Evolutions:

i. Guided field inspections of a multi occupancy structure; and

ii. Hands-on water flow tests;

17. Module 17: Current Code Changes:

i. Code Update CEU program review;

18. Module 18: Fire Investigation:

i. Review duties of fire officials to investigate fires;

ii. Types of investigations;

iii. Basic fire investigation techniques;

iv. Scene approach and documentation;

v. Interviewing victims, witnesses, and responders; and

vi. Preserving evidence, legal aspect of evidence collection, working with other agencies, requesting assistance; and

vii. Documentation processes;

19. Module 19: Terrorism Indicators:

i. Overview of terrorism;

ii. History;

iii. Intelligence gathering;

iv. Situational awareness;

v. Hazardous materials and CBRNE awareness;

vi. Visual indicators;

vii. Clandestine lab hazards, types, and clean-up; and

viii. Pros, cons, and ramifications of becoming an agent for law enforcement; and

20. Module 20: Add Ons (optional):

i. Classroom review of slides representing hazards/violations with students identifying the problem and providing exact code citations to support conclusion;

ii. Large loss or multiple fatality fire code history analysis;

iii. Legal liability;

iv. Relationship to other government agencies;

v. LEA operations;

vi. Local government operations;

vii. Use of the internet; and

viii. Ride-along.

(g) The course of study for fire official certification shall consist of a planned pattern of instruction and experiences designed to meet the following standards. The course shall provide at least 30 contact hours of instruction not including examination and support time. The course shall also ensure, by examination, technical competence in the following subject areas:

1. Administration: Fire Code administration, purpose, place in local government structure and relation to Fire Code administration programs at other levels of government; basic principles of supervision, and personnel management including personnel records, budgeting and disciplinary actions; the preparation of records, reports, local enforcing agency budget, recordkeeping requirements as contained in the Uniform Fire Code, including permits, appeals, variances, applications, and violation files and records; and the method of establishing and maintaining proper review and approval procedures for permit applications to ensure compliance with the Fire code and applicable laws and ordinances;

2. Legal methods of code enforcement: Purpose and fundamentals of notices of violation, notices of penalties and court action; powers and procedures available to deal with hazardous conditions and emergency situations; preparation of case records; situations requiring a search warrant and the process of obtaining and issuing the warrant; the administrative hearing process under the State Uniform Fire Code Act; and legal responsibilities of inspection personnel, including legal processes and rules of evidence;

3. Legal rights of landlords and tenants under Federal, State and local laws, and Relationship of Fire Code maintenance provisions as required by State and local agencies; and

4. Local enforcing agency organization and duties of the fire official; and coordination with construction officials, fire subcode officials and other Federal, state, county or local agencies.

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:71-4.9

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 771(a), effective 2/5/2018