The Incident Management Systems Division Releases New Job Titles for Credentialing Fire/Hazardous Materials (Fire/HazMat) Personnel 
 
As part of our nation’s efforts to strengthen catastrophic response capabilities in line with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), FEMA’s Incident Management Systems Division has released initial minimum criteria for three new Fire/HazMat personnel job titles to be deployed in an interstate mutual aid response. The purpose of this release is to solicit comments and constructive feedback for an open period not to exceed 30 calendar days from the date stated in this NIMS Alert.  
 
After adjudicating comments from the last review, the Fire/HazMat working group has identified the following changes: 
1. The addition of three positions to address specific HazMat roles: 

1) HazMat Officer 

2) HazMat Safety Officer 

3) HazMat Technician  


2. The addition of higher standards or levels of training to the Recommended Criteria.    

3. When the Experience Category is listed, a notice was added that experience should be measured from the time an individual receives necessary certifications.   


 
These recommendations have been submitted to the Incident Management Systems Division and will be made available on the NIMS Web page at http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/rm/job_titles.shtm. The Incident Management Systems Division again invites NIMS Stakeholders to review these new positions for the standardized, national credentialing of Fire/HazMat Personnel. The Fire/HazMat Working Group will review all responses submitted and as appropriate make any needed revisions with a final NIMS release of the Criteria for credentialing Fire/HazMat personnel. 
 
Comments can be directed to the following E-mail address:  NIMS-credentialing@L-3com.com.