Added by Stats. 1977, Ch. 1248.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the California Fire Service Training and Education Program Act.
Article 4 - California Fire Service Training and Education Program
California Health and Safety Code — §§ 13155-13159.6
Sections (12)
Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1313, Sec. 13.
The Legislature finds and declares that the purposes of this article are as follows:
(a)To reduce the costs in suffering and property loss resulting from fire through standardized fire training and education programs.
(b)To provide professional fire service training and education programs to personnel in fire departments that rely extensively on volunteers.
(c)To develop new methods and practices in the area of fire protection.
(d)To disseminate information relative to fires, techniques of firefighters, and other related subjects to all interested agencies and individuals throughout the state.
(e)To enhance the coordination of fire service training and education.
(f)To develop a coordinated and standardized plan for the control of fires and the safety of firefighters where hazardous materials are involved.
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 312, Sec. 1. (SB 345) Effective January 1, 2026.
The California Fire Service Training and Education Program is hereby established in the office of the State Fire Marshal.
The State Fire Marshal, with policy guidance and advice from the State Board of Fire Services, shall carry out the management of the California Fire Service Training and Education Program and shall have the authority to do all of the following:
(a)Promulgate and adopt rules and regulations necessary for implementation of the program.
(b)Establish the courses of study and curriculum to be used in the program.
(c)Establish prerequisites for the admission of personnel who attend courses offered in the program.
(d)(1) Establish and collect admission fees and other fees that may be necessary to be charged for seminars, conferences, and specialized training given, consistent with the terms of paragraph (2).
(2)The State Fire Marshal may establish and collect admission fees and other fees as described in paragraph (1) only to the extent that state appropriations and other funding sources for those seminars, conferences, and specialized training are insufficient to cover the necessary costs of those seminars, conferences, and specialized training.
(e)Collect those fees as may be established pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section
13159.8.
Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 332, Sec. 31. Effective January 1, 1997.
The State Fire Marshal shall employ under civil service a program manager and staff as necessary to perform the functions for which the program has been established.
All personnel of the State Fire Training Program with the Department of Education shall be eligible to transfer to appropriate positions in the California Fire Service Training and Education Program provided they meet the qualifications for those positions.
Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1574, Sec. 3.
The State Fire Marshal, with policy guidance and advice from the State Board of Fire Services, shall have the following responsibilities:
(a)To make fire service training and education programs, including training and education in the use of heavy rescue equipment, available on a voluntary basis to fire departments that rely extensively on volunteers.
(b)Cooperate with the State Board of Fire Services in the development of a minimum standards program for fire service personnel and fire service instructors.
(c)Assist and cooperate with State Board of Fire Services pursuant to Section 13142.4.
(d)Verify that minimum curriculum requirements, facilities, and faculty standards for schools, seminars, or workshops operated by or for the state for the specific purpose of training fire service personnel are being met.
(e)Make or encourage studies of any aspect of fire service training and education.
(f)Determine the need for and recommend locations of regional training sites.
(g)Develop a model plan or system for use by fire departments for the control of fires and the safety of firefighters where hazardous materials are involved.
(h)Study the feasibility of establishing within the office of the State Fire Marshal, a depository of information on hazardous material characteristics for use by local fire departments and other entities that respond to emergencies.
Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 803, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2007.
(a)The State Fire Marshal shall establish additional training standards that include the criteria for curriculum content recommended by the Emergency Response Training Advisory Committee established pursuant to Section 8588.10 of the Government Code, involving the responsibilities of first responders to terrorism incidents and to address the training needs of those identified as first responders.
(b)The State Fire Marshal shall contract with the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program for the development of curriculum content criteria specified in subdivision (a).
(c)Every paid and volunteer firefighter assigned to field duties in a state or local fire department or fire protection or firefighting agency may receive the appropriate training described in this section. Pertinent training previously completed by any jurisdiction’s firefighters and meeting the training standards of this section may be submitted to the State Fire Marshal to assess its content and determine whether it meets the training requirements prescribed by the State Fire Marshal.
Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 344, Sec. 1. (AB 579) Effective September 28, 2017.
(a)The Division of Apprenticeship Standards, in collaboration with the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee (CAL-JAC), shall develop a statewide firefighter preapprenticeship program designed to recruit candidates from underrepresented groups.
(b)The firefighter preapprenticeship program funded by the division shall meet both of the following objectives:
(1)Create training and curriculum based on California firefighter standards designed to prepare candidates from underrepresented groups with the skills, competencies, and mentorship needed to pass the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT), and the written tests and oral components common to the California
hiring process that are necessary for a candidate to be eligible for consideration and hire with fire protection agencies.
(2)Provide Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Training to candidates from underrepresented groups, preparing them to meet the necessary minimum qualification required by the majority of fire protection agencies.
(c)CAL-JAC shall deliver the pilot classes established through the preapprenticeship program using existing facilities and training models in order to minimize the costs of the program. CAL-JAC shall provide the preapprenticeship program model to fire protection agencies. That program may include curriculum, course set up and outlines staffing and
equipment requirements, and recruitment strategies developed pursuant to this section. A protection fire agency may then use those resources to establish a local preapprenticeship program for recruiting candidates from underrepresented groups.
(d)The Division of Apprenticeship Standards shall provide the oversight and technical assistance in the development of this preapprenticeship program.
(e)For purposes of this section, “underrepresented groups” means groups that CAL-JAC determines are currently underrepresented in the firefighter profession.
Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 215, Sec. 1. (AB 398) Effective January 1, 2012.
(a)For purposes of this section, the State Fire Marshal shall be referred to as the SFM.
(b)The SFM may accept certification by the United States Department of Defense as a firefighter as an alternative for the basic SFM training and certification standards for the position of Firefighter I of the California Fire Service Training and Education Program, if the United States Department of Defense certification is accompanied by a national certification or accreditation that has been approved by the SFM and that is based on the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress, Pro Board, or other accepted third-party certification standard.
(c)If the United States Department of Defense certification is not accompanied by a national certification approved by the SFM, as described in subdivision (b), the SFM shall follow the verification process adopted pursuant to the authority provided in Sections 13157 and 13159.
Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 427, Sec. 98. Effective January 1, 1993.
The State Fire Marshal shall annually review, revise as necessary, and administer the California Fire Service Training program, shall establish priorities for the use of state and federal fire service training and education funds applicable to statewide programs, other than those funds administered by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and shall approve the expenditure of these funds in accordance with the established priorities. This section shall not restrict local entities from independently seeking and utilizing state and federal funds for local fire training and education needs.
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 767, Sec. 1. (SB 514) Effective January 1, 2026.
(a)The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall develop and make available on its internet website a Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Safety Building Standards Compliance training intended for use in the training of local building officials, builders, and fire service personnel. This training shall be updated as changes are made to Chapter 7A (commencing with Section 701A.1) of Part 2 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, or any appropriate successor regulatory code, and shall include any pertinent mandates for emergency power backup, including, but not limited to, battery backup requirements for automatic garage door openers.
(b)The Office of the State Fire Marshal may allow
certification of contractors who conduct defensible space, home hardening, fuel reduction, roadside clearance, and other contracting activities for wildfire resiliency efforts and who have completed the training program developed pursuant to Section 4291.6 of the Public Resources Code or an equivalent program.
(c)The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall develop and update on a regular basis a Wildland-Urban Interface Products listing of products and construction assemblies that comply with Chapter 7A (commencing with Section 701A.1) of Part 2 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, or any appropriate successor regulatory code, for products such as the following:
(1)Exterior wall siding and sheathing.
(2)Exterior windows, skylights, and doors.
(3)Vents, including eave and cornice vents.
(4)Decking.
(5)Treated lumber and ignition-resistant materials.
(6)Roofing materials.
(7)Emergency battery power backup for automatic garage door openers.
(d)In researching and developing the products listing and the educational and training provisions under this section, the Office of the State Fire Marshal is authorized to expend funds from the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund, upon an appropriation by the
Legislature, pursuant to Section 18931.7.
Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 575, Sec. 2. (AB 662) Effective January 1, 2023.
(a)The State Fire Marshal shall establish additional training standards that include the criteria for curriculum content recommended by the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee involving peer-to-peer suicide prevention programming.
(b)The State Fire Marshal shall coordinate with the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program for the development and delivery of curriculum content criteria specified in subdivision (a).
(c)All paid personnel assigned to field duties in a state or local fire department or fire protection or firefighting agency may receive the appropriate training described in this section.
(d)The State Fire Marshal shall make the curriculum content criteria developed pursuant to this section available to the Emergency Medical Services Authority.
(e)The implementation of this section is contingent upon an appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or another statute for purposes of this section.
Added by renumbering Section 13142.5 by Stats. 1988, Ch. 653, Sec. 3.
There is established in the State Treasury the California Fire and Arson Training Fund. All revenue collected pursuant to Section 13159.8 shall be paid into this fund and these moneys shall be available when appropriated by the Legislature for the office of the State Fire Marshal to carry out the provisions of this article.