House panel approves ‘more inclusive’ firefighter licensing regulations

Firefighter training and education would be streamlined under a bill calling for several technical changes to current law on licensing requirements for firefighters.

HF2395, sponsored by Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL-St. Paul), would make firefighter licensure “easier and more inclusive for firefighters who want to get licensed,” said Steve Flaherty, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education.

Rep. Dave Pinto

The House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Division held over the bill, as amended, Thursday for possible omnibus bill inclusion. The companion, SF1155, is sponsored by Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Mpls) and awaits action by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee.

Rep. Brian Johnson (R-Cambridge) noted that staffing volunteer fire departments is a constant struggle for communities in Greater Minnesota and asked whether any provisions would help or hinder that situation.

Flaherty noted that volunteer firefighters in Minnesota are not required to be licensed and that the language does not change that. He noted, however, that any volunteer firefighter who seeks to be licensed would have an easier time doing so under provisions in the bill that increase the number of firefighting certification organizations recognized by the state licensing board.

Other provisions in the bill would:

• extend the term of Board of Firefighting Training and Education members from one year to two years;
• clarify how the state firefighting board receives its funding from the Fire Safety Account to provide reimbursements to fire departments across the state; and
• allow a volunteer firefighter to receive a license if he or she is affiliated with a department under the same terms as a full-time firefighter.