Alabama Emergency Telecommunicator Minimum Standards
Alabama NENA and APCO finds
and declares it to be in the public interest to reduce the time required for a citizen to request and receive emergency aid
and to raise the level of competence of public safety and 9-1-1 telecommunicators by establishing a minimum standard of training
and certification for personnel involved in the answering and dispatching of calls to law enforcement, fire and emergency
medical services.
DEFINITIONS:
As used in this chapter,
the following words and terms have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1)
"TELECOMMUNICATOR" shall mean any person employed by a public safety agency whose primary focal duties are receiving,
processing, and transmitting requests from the public for emergency services.
(2)
"PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY" shall mean any unit of state or local government, a special purpose district or a private firm
which provides or has authority to provide fire-fighting, law enforcement, ambulance, emergency medical or 9-1-1 telephone
services.
(3)
"EMERGENCY SERVICES" shall mean services provided by a public safety agency such as fire fighting, law enforcement,
emergency medical and ambulance services, disaster recovery and any other activity engaged in for the maintenance of public safety.
(4)
"EMPLOYED" shall mean any person paid or unpaid by a public safety agency as a telecommunicator.
(5)
"COURSE" shall mean any grouping of classes or series of lectures or lessons combined to attain a mandated or optional
training program.
(6)"ADVISORY
COMMITTEE" shall mean the Alabama Emergency
Telecommunicator Personnel
and Training Standards Advisory Committee.
(7)"CERTIFICATION" shall
mean complying with the standards or requirements relative to the courses which meet the approved Miminum Standards and are
adopted by each individual agency.
SECTION 1.
Creation; composition; qualifications
of members; appointment; terms of office; adoption of bylaws.
(1)
The Alabama Emergency Telecommunicator Personnel and Training
Standards Advisory Committee is hereby created and established. The commission shall consist of seven members, each of whom
must be a qualified elector of the state who is over the age of 18 years. The Alabama Chapter of the National Emergency Number
Association (NENA) shall designate two members to serve for a term of four years; the Alabama Chapter of the Association of
Public Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) shall designate two members to serve for a term of four years;
the Executive Director of the Alabama Fire Fighters' Personnel Standards and Education's Commission or his designee shall
serve as a member; the Executive Director of the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards
and Training Commission or his designee shall serve as a member of the commission, and The Alabama Department of Public Health
shall appoint one member. No two members serving on this committee shall be from the same county unless otherwise approved
by a majority of the committee. The members may adopt bylaws to govern the organization of the commission, its meetings and
activities; provided, that the bylaws shall not conflict with this document.
(2)
There shall be a chairman and a vice chairman of the Committee elected by and from the membership of the Advisory
Committee at the first meeting. The Committee shall adopt guidelines governing times and places for meetings and governing
the manner of conducting its business, but the Committee shall meet at least once every four (4) months. There must be four
(4) or more members present to constitute a quorum.
(3)
An organizational meeting of the Committee shall be called not later than thirty (30) days after the effective date
of this document.
(4)
The Committee may appoint or form special subcommittees as needed to assist and advise them.
SECTION 2.
(1)
The initial recommended minimum standards of training for telecommunicators
shall be as shown in Table I: The initial recommended minimum standards course
shall consist of not less than forty (40) hours of instruction including practical exercises. The Standard Training Modules
will be periodically reviewed by the Advisory Committee and revised as required to maintain compliance with new regulations
and additional requirements.
(a)
All courses approved for minimum standards shall be taught by instructors certified by the course originator as instructors
for such courses.
(b)
No agency or entity will be given the exclusive rights to teach the minimum standards course. Any agency or entity
that meets the standards set by the Commission of Emergency Telecommunicator Standards and Training can offer training programs.
