(a) In order to be certified as a Fire Officer III an individual must:
  (1) hold certification as Structural Fire Protection Personnel, Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Personnel, or Marine Fire Protection Personnel; and
  (2) hold Fire Officer II certification through the commission; and
  (3) hold, as a minimum, Fire Service Instructor II certification through the commission; and
  (4) document completion of ICS-300: Intermediate Incident Command System; and
  (5) possess valid documentation as a Fire Officer III from either:
    (A) the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress; or
    (B) the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications issued by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service using the 2009 or later edition of the NFPA standard applicable to this discipline and meeting the requirements as specified in §439.1 of this title (relating to Requirements--General); or
  (6) complete a commission approved Fire Officer III program and successfully pass the commission examination as specified in Chapter 439 of this title (relating to Examinations for Certification). An approved Fire Officer III program must consist of one of the following:
    (A) completion of a commission approved Fire Officer III Curriculum as specified in Chapter 9 of the commission's Certification Curriculum Manual;
    (B) completion of an out-of-state and/or military training program that has been submitted to the commission for evaluation and found to be equivalent to or exceed the commission approved Fire Officer III Curriculum;
    (C) successful completion of 15 college semester hours of upper level coursework from a four-year regionally accredited institution in any of the following subject areas:
      (i) Administration/Management;
      (ii) Budget/Finance;
      (iii) Planning/Organization;
      (iv) Leadership/Ethics;
      (v) Risk Management;
      (vi) Safety and Health;
      (vii) Community Risk Reduction; or
      (viii) Criminal Justice; or
    (D) successful attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution in any of the following:
      (i) Fire Science/Administration/Management;
      (ii) Emergency Management;
      (iii) Public Administration;
      (iv) Emergency Medicine;
      (v) Business Management/Administration;
      (vi) Political Science;
      (vii) Human Resources Management;
      (viii) Public Health;
      (ix) Risk Management;
      (x) Criminal Justice; or
      (xi) a related management/administration/leadership degree.
(b) Out-of-state or military training programs which are submitted to the commission for the purpose of determining equivalency will be considered equivalent if all competencies set forth in Chapter 9 (pertaining to Fire Officer) of the commission's Certification Curriculum Manual are met.

Source Note: The provisions of this §451.303 adopted to be effective February 28, 2013, 38 TexReg 1220; amended to be effective March 2, 2014, 39 TexReg 1171; amended to be effective September 1, 2014, 39 TexReg 6876; amended to be effective February 18, 2018, 43 TexReg 778