(a) The commission shall:

(1) Recommend minimum standards of education and physical condition required of each candidate for any firefighter position;

(2) Establish standards for a fire service training and education program, on a voluntary basis, and develop and conduct an examination program to certify those fire service personnel who satisfactorily demonstrate their ability to meet the requirements of the fire service training and education program standards;

(3) Conduct fire fighting training and education programs designed to assist firefighters in developing and maintaining their skills and keeping abreast of technological advances in fire suppression, fire protection, fire prevention and related fields;

(4) Recommend standards for promotion to the various ranks of fire departments;

(5) Be authorized, with the approval of the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, to apply for, receive and distribute any state, federal or private funds or contributions available for training and education of fire fighting personnel;

(6) Recommend that the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection approve or reject the establishment of, or, when appropriate, suspend or revoke the approval of, regional fire schools in accordance with section 7-323u; and

(7) Submit to the Governor, the Joint Legislative Management Committee of the General Assembly and the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection an annual report relating to the activities, recommendations and accomplishments of the commission.

(b) The commission may recommend, and the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection may adopt, regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

(P.A. 73-649, S. 3, 5; P.A. 75-617, S. 3, 8; P.A. 80-169, S. 2; P.A. 83-566, S. 3, 6; P.A. 98-226, S. 2; P.A. 11-51, S. 151; 11-243, S. 4.)

History: P.A. 75-617 deleted reference to standards of temperament in Subsec. (a) and changed effective date of standards for use in hiring from January 1, 1975, to January 1, 1976; P.A. 80-169 replaced provisions of Subsec. (a) with requirement to recommend minimum standards of education and physical condition, replaced provisions for in-service training with new provisions for voluntary training and education program and reworded Subsecs. (c) and (d), removing from Subsec. (d) requirement for consultation with technical colleges' committee of fire technology and administration; P.A. 83-566 amended Subsec. (b), replacing references to “fire fighting” with “fire service” and amended Subsec. (e), authorizing commission to receive and distribute private funds or contributions for training and education of fire fighting personnel; P.A. 98-226 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), replacing alphabetic Subdivs. (a) to (f) with Subdivs. (1) to (6) and added Subsec. (b) giving the commission authority to adopt regulations; P.A. 11-51 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “with the approval of the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection” in Subdiv. (5) and by requiring annual report to be submitted to Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection in Subdiv. (6), amended Subsec. (b) by removing commission's authority to adopt regulations, authorizing Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection to adopt regulations, and authorizing commission to recommend regulations, and made technical changes, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-243 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “state,” re funds available for training and education of fire fighting personnel in Subdiv. (5), adding new Subdiv. (6) re recommendation of approval or rejection of regional fire schools and redesignating existing Subdiv. (6) as Subdiv. (7).