Licensing

The IAFF HazMat Training Department takes its mission seriously: to provide training to all responders whose duty potentially includes HazMat response. We believe strongly that our program is the best training for HazMat response, but in light of diminishing funding from granting agencies, we cannot reach all areas that need high-quality training for frontline fire fighters.

To ensure that training is available to all first responders who need it, the IAFF has allowed its program to be used by agencies who agree to abide by its licensing standards, enhancing its reach throughout the U.S. and Canada, including:

The IAFF’s Health and Safety Department’s Fire Ground Survival and CPAT programs are already operating under licensing. The HazMat licensing program is modeled after these programs.

A fire department/training site must first apply for an IAFF license, and once approved, must pay an annual licensing fee. Licensing fees are waived for IAFF affiliates, including locals and state/provincial associations. The training site must also be able to host a Train-the-Trainer class to certify its instructors to the Certified Instructor level. The IAFF will conduct a Train-the-Trainer of 10-20 local instructors that meet the minimum criteria:

Fire departments/training sites can make arrangements with area training agencies to coordinate training for a regional Train-the-Trainer. A single training site is expected to have a minimum of three IAFF HazMat Certified Instructors, but only two IAFF Certified Instructors are required to co-teach an IAFF Hazmat class. In addition, a training site that uses another site’s resources and facilities to train fire fighters must apply for a license of their own.

The IAFF HazMat Training Department will issue licenses to sites that apply and fit the following criteria to conduct classes at their training site:

Participants that attend and pass an IAFF Train the Trainer for any licensed training site will be an IAFF Certified Instructor and will be allowed to facilitate the course for which they took the training. Certified Instructors can only instruct at the site in which they are licensed. Any students trained by an IAFF Certified Instructor will be eligible to receive Pro Board^® certificates.

Participants who attend and pass the IAFF HazMat Operations course taught by an IAFF Certified Instructor will be certified at the Pro Board^® for HazMat Awareness, Operations, and Mission-specific PPE and Product Control levels, as prescribed by the NFPA^® NFPA 470 Standard – Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Standard for Responders, 2022 Edition, Chapters 5, 7, 9.2, and 9.6.

Participants who attend and pass the IAFF HazMat Technician course will be certified by the IAFF and the Pro Board^® for NFPA 470 Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Standard for Responders, 2022 Edition, Chapter 11.

To ensure that the IAFF has adequate resources to conduct onsite reviews and audits, license holders will be charged an annual licensing fee of $5,000. IAFF affiliates are exempt from the annual fee for licensing, this includes IAFF locals and state/provincial associations.

Licenses can be renewed by the fire department/fire training site every 12 months upon resubmission of updated information on its certified instructors and a list of training equipment. All license reapplications are subject to review by the IAFF HazMat Training Department, which may involve an onsite audit for quality assurance. As part of the annual fee, the IAFF Certified Instructor will receive updates to instructor training materials and continued information regarding IAFF HazMat training programs. Licenses will be non-transferable, non-exclusive and revocable at will for any reason.

A licensed fire department/fire training site may host training for up to 25 candidates per class for a fee of up to $2,500 (U.S.). As part of this fee, the IAFF will provide a Pro Board^®-qualified proctor to administer the post-test on the final day. This fee also covers the student submission fee for the Pro Board^® registry. A training site may opt to use an IAFF-contracted testing center in lieu of an IAFF proctor. Any associated testing fees will be made payable directly to the IAFF.

All payment must be received 90 days prior to the start of a HazMat training class. If payment is not received prior to the start of the workshop, candidates will not be authorized to attend and will not be certified. Conducting classes without the intent to certify students is a violation of the IAFF license. If a license is revoked, a site is unauthorized to use IAFF intellectual materials and is therefore in violation of copyright law.

The Pro Board^® requires that an IAFF Master Instructor or an approved testing center act as proctor for its certified courses and, therefore, will not allow delegation of test proctoring to any training site personnel.

To ensure that the IAFF HazMat Training Programs are being delivered properly and only as intended, a formal licensing policy has been implemented that specifies the way in which this IAFF HazMat Training Programs can legally be used. This procedure was instituted by the IAFF to protect the integrity of its HazMat Training Programs and the interests of the members of the IAFF by ensuring that these programs are implemented properly and as intended.

Under the current policy, authorization to use the IAFF HazMat Training Programs under a Full License will only be granted to fire departments or training sites to train students within their jurisdiction. Limiting the granting of licenses to only those entities that actually administer the IAFF HazMat Training Programs will enable the IAFF to ensure that they are only being delivered in strict compliance with the licensing agreement.

Third party training organizations (limited to federal, state or provincial agencies; state/provincial fire academies; and colleges/universities that conduct fire fighter training) may apply for a license.  Such licenses allow third party training organizations or regional consortiums to use and teach the IAFF HazMat Training Programs for purposes of training fire fighters or public safety personnel when the training is not provided or available from their fire department. However, this license is granted only upon the express conditions that the licensee may only deliver the IAFF HazMat Training Programs for a fire department/training site that meet all requirements. Licensees shall not use the IAFF HazMat Training Programs to train any person without first obtaining a written agreement with the fire department/training site to which the person is employed.

In addition, a fire department/training site that uses another site’s resources and facilities to train fire fighters must apply for a license of their own.

The licensing policy ensures that the IAFF HazMat Training Programs used by licensee fully covers every aspect of the IAFF HazMat Training Programs, including all required safety measures.  Any use of the IAFF HazMat Training Programs without a license or any misuse of the programs is a violation of the IAFF copyright on the IAFF HazMat Training Programs.

To learn more about the IAFF HazMat Training programs and its licensing, email [email protected]. To learn how to apply for federal funding that can pay for training, backfill, apparatus or staffing, click here or send an email to [email protected] or call (202) 824-1562.

The IAFF HazMat Training Programs License is granted only upon the express condition that the licensee use the IAFF HazMat Training Programs in whole and only for the purpose of training first responders to identify and respond to incidents involving hazardous materials. This training includes, but is not necessarily limited to the following skills: analyze the incident to identify the problem and the behavior of HazMat/WMDs and containers present; plan an initial response, develop an incident action plan and communicate that plan in accordance with standard operating procedures/guidelines (SOPs/SOGs) and available equipment and personnel; implement the planned response while observing operations and outcomes; use PPE at HazMat/WMD incidents; perform defensive product control at HazMat/WMD incidents; and evaluate the progress to assess the effectiveness of the actions taken to stabilize the incident, and protect people, property, and the environment, including the use of specified equipment, props, safety measures and IAFF-Certified Instructors.

Any attempt by the licensee to use only a portion of the IAFF HazMat Training Programs or to use the IAFF HazMat Training Programs without the proper safety measures and/or without IAFF-Certified Instructors is inconsistent with the scope of this license, and is therefore prohibited. The licensee is only authorized to make use of the IAFF HazMat Training Programs in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Program Manual. The Program Manual is hereby incorporated into this licensing agreement.

As a condition of receiving an IAFF HazMat Training Programs License, the licensee must agree that it will conduct the IAFF HazMat Training Programs in accordance with the IAFF’s licensing requirements. The full licensee shall meet the following licensing requirements:

The IAFF will provide custom certificates for students that register, successfully complete the course and complete the post-course evaluation survey.

Licenses shall only be issued to fire departments, third-party training organizations or regional consortiums that are:

To ensure compliance with this policy, the IAFF will conduct periodic onsite reviews and audits of the facilities holding a license, and the licensee must agree to fully cooperate with such efforts.  The onsite review and audit will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

To ensure that the IAFF has adequate resources to conduct onsite reviews and audits, license holders will be charged an annual licensing fee of $5,000. Licensing fees are waived for IAFF affiliates, including locals and state/provincial associations. Licensees will also be provided any and all updates to the Program.

Licenses are non-transferable, non-exclusive and terminable at will for any reason and at any time. The IAFF may terminate the license by written notice, effective immediately upon receipt of such notice by the other party, and any fees already paid by the licensee at the time of termination are non-refundable.

The Course, and any written, printed, graphic, or electronically or magnetically recorded information developed in accordance with this Agreement, shall be the sole and exclusive property of the IAFF. In addition, any written, printed, graphic, or electronically or magnetically recorded information furnished by the IAFF for use in carrying out the provisions of this Agreement are the sole property of the IAFF. The IAFF owns the proprietary rights to these IAFF HazMat Training Programs. This proprietary information includes, but is not limited to Course Materials, client lists, marketing information and information concerning the IAFF’s employees, donors, benefactors, products, services, prices, operations and subsidiaries not otherwise available in the normal course of events. The host site will keep this information in the strictest confidence and will not disclose it by any means to any person except with the IAFF’s written approval, and only to the extent necessary to perform under this Agreement. This prohibition also applies to the Host Site employees and agents. Upon termination of this Agreement, the host site will return any confidential information in its possession to the IAFF.

The IAFF has copyrighted its HazMat Training Programs in order to prevent unauthorized use. The IAFF owns the exclusive right to reproduce copies of the IAFF HazMat Training Programs; to prepare derivative works from the IAFF HazMat Training Programs; to distribute the IAFF HazMat Training Programs to the public; and to publicly display this work. The copyright on the IAFF HazMat Training Program is registered with the United States Copyright Office. Because of this registration, the IAFF may invoke certain remedies in a lawsuit for copyright infringement. These remedies include actual damages, injunction, any profits realized by the infringer and statutory damages, including attorneys’ fees and litigation costs. The IAFF’s copyright on its HazMat Training Programs is also afforded complete protection in Canada pursuant to the Universal Copyright Convention. The IAFF reserves all rights under Canadian and international law for copyright infringement and for any illegal use, distribution, copying and creation of derivative works that are not allowed by this license. The IAFF may invoke certain remedies in a lawsuit for copyright infringement. These remedies include actual damages, injunction, any profits realized by the infringer and punitive damages.

This copyright protection extends to any derivative of the IAFF HazMat Training Programs that is “substantially similar” to the Program. Further, the IAFF does NOT grant a license for the creation of derivative works or works that are based on whole or in part on the IAFF HazMat Training Program. This includes works that are written, as well as oral. Specific, written permission is necessary from the IAFF in order to create derivative works.

While the IAFF may permit the reproduction and reprinting of the IAFF HazMat Training Program upon request, this does not authorize the licensee to reprint or reproduce, in whole or in part, the IAFF HazMat Training Program. Specific, written permission is necessary from the IAFF in order to reprint or reproduce the HazMat Program. The IAFF reserves all rights and remedies for copyright infringement for any illegal use, distribution, copying or creation of derivative works that are not covered by this license.

The IAFF is entitled to, and will, institute legal action against any infringement of its exclusive rights or its licensing agreement. The remedies for copyright infringement include obtaining an injunction to prevent further infringement and to ensure the destruction of unauthorized copies. They also include the recovery of any damages suffered by the IAFF, recovery of the profits of the infringer, and the recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs of the litigation.

This license is subject to termination for any reason at the election of the IAFF by written notice. This license cannot be transferred or sub-licensed to any third parties without permission from the IAFF.

The City shall fully indemnify, defend and hold harmless IAFF from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, expenses and liability arising under this Agreement, provided that such claim, loss, damage, expense or liability does not arise from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the IAFF.

Any notices given under this Agreement by either party to the other must be effected in writing by personal delivery, or by mail, registered or certified postage prepaid with return receipt requested (or delivery by private carrier, e.g., UPS, FedEx, with signature required). Mailed notices must be addressed to the parties at the addresses appearing in the introductory paragraph of this Agreement, but each party may change the address by giving written notice in accordance with this paragraph. Notices delivered personally will be deemed communicated as of actual receipt; mailed notices will be deemed communicated as of the date of receipt or the fifth day after mailing, whichever occurs first.

If any provision of this Agreement is: (i) held by an arbitrator or a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, or (ii) invalidated by state law enacted after the parties entered into this Agreement, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect without being impaired or invalidated in any way.

No failure or delay by the IAFF in exercising any right, power, or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any right, power or privilege hereunder.

The host site is an independent entity and neither the host site nor its agents or employees shall be considered employees or agents of the IAFF. This Agreement does not constitute and shall not be construed as constituting a partnership or joint venture or grant of a franchise between the IAFF and the host site. This Agreement shall not be construed as authority for either party to act for the other party in any agency or other capacity or to make commitments of any kind for the account of or on the behalf of the other, except to the extent and for the purposes provided herein.

This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia. The parties agree that each has reviewed and drafted this Agreement and that the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of this Agreement or any revision or exhibit thereto.

This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties concerning the subject matter hereof. This Agreement supersedes any and all prior agreements, either oral or written, between the parties and contains all of the representations, covenants and agreements between the parties. Each party to this Agreement acknowledges that no representations, inducements, promises, or agreements, orally or otherwise, have been made by any party, which is not contained in this Agreement, and that no other agreement, statement, or promise not contained in this Agreement will be valid or binding. Any modification of this Agreement will be effective only if it is in a writing signed by the parties hereto.

The Articles and other headings contained in this Agreement are meant to organize the document and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of the terms of this Agreement.