585-X-5-.01 General Provisions.
(1) Definitions.
(a) Act means Alabama Act 2022-387 for the purposes of Rule 585-X-5.
(b) Call or 911 Call means any request for public safety assistance that the PSAP is equipped to receive, without regard to the media used to make that request; provided, however, that the term may appear in conjunction with specific media, including voice call, video call, text call, or data-only call, when the specific media is of importance.
(c) Certified means an entity or individual that completes the certification program and maintains certification requirements.
(d) Date of hire means the start date of work as documented in a telecommunicator’s personnel record.
(e) District means a communications district as defined by Ala. Code §11-98-1 et. Seq. 1975, as amended.
(f) Emergency Service Provider means an agency of the State of Alabama, or a political subdivision thereof, that provides firefighting, rescue, natural or man-caused disaster, or major emergency response, public safety telecommunication and dispatch, law enforcement, ambulance, or emergency medical services. The term also includes private ambulance services.
(g) Exigent circumstance means a crisis situation that may arise in a primary PSAP, without adequate planning notice, in which the 9-1-1 calls cannot be managed without using a non-participating public safety telecommunicator, or otherwise uncertified personnel.
(h) First Responder means an individual who rapidly receives and responds to emergency situations to protect life and property. The term includes law enforcement officers, fire fighters, rescue squads, emergency medical service providers, public safety telecommunicators, and any other emergency management providers responding to an emergency situation.
(i) Force Majeure Event means an event that is a result of Acts of Nature (including fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disaster), war, invasion, act of foreign enemies, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or usurped power or confiscation, terrorist activities, nationalization, government sanction, blockage, embargo, labor dispute, strike, lockout or interruption or failure of power sources not due to the fault of the affected party.
(j) Internal training means training that is specific to a primary PSAP and may be used toward the minimum training hours or continuing education credits for certification as approved by the Board.
(k) Leave of absence means a period of time that a telecommunicator is absent from work, during regularly scheduled work time and that is approved by the employing agency.
(l) Non-participating means an entity or individual that fails to participate in the certification program or fails to maintain certification requirements.
(m) Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP means an entity responsible for receiving 911 calls and processing those calls according to a specific operational policy.
(n) Public Safety Telecommunicator or PST means a person employed by a public safety answering point or emergency service provider as a public safety dispatcher or 911 operator whose duties and responsibilities include both of the following:
1. Answering, receiving, transferring, and dispatching functions related to 911 calls and texts.
2. Dispatching first responders to the scene of an emergency.
(o) Public Safety Telecommunicator (or PST) Trainee means either of the following:
1. A person hired as a telecommunicator not more than 12 months before the effective date of these rules.
2. A person hired after the effective date of these rules who has not completed the requirements of these rules.
(p) Non-affiliated Public Safety Telecommunicator or PST means a person certified as a public safety telecommunicator by the Board but not currently employed by a public safety answering point or emergency service provider to act as a public safety dispatcher or 911 operator whose duties and responsibilities include both of the following:
1. Answering, receiving, transferring, and dispatching functions related to 911 calls and texts.
2. Dispatching first responders to the scene of an emergency.
(q) Non-affiliated PST Trainee means a person not currently employed by a public safety answering point or emergency service provider to act as a telecommunicator but is enrolled in a public safety telecommunicator certification program approved by the Board.
(2) Certification Authority. The Alabama 911 Board shall have the authority to establish a certification program to train and certify public safety telecommunicators employed by a primary PSAP receiving 911 calls, including establishing minimum core competency topics and minimum number of training hours, deciding whether a written examination is required, and any necessary certification requirements, to the extent funds are available to cover all costs for the training established by the board. The board may establish rules for enforcement of those PSAPs that fail to participate in the certification program. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the training and certification requirements of the Board shall not apply to any public safety telecommunicator employed by the state or an agency or department thereof.
(3) Applicability.
(a) The following shall comply with the provision of these rules no later than 360 days from July 1, 2022:
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- The Alabama 911 Board.
- All primary Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) receiving 911 calls.
- All new and existing public safety telecommunicators of an Alabama primary PSAP.
- All Emergency Communication Districts that act as primary PSAPs or otherwise provides resources to the operation of primary PSAPs.
(b) The Board, as authorized in Code of Ala. 1975, §11-98-4.1, shall create rules and implement procedures as needed to carry out these rules.
Author: Leah Missildine/Alabama 911 Board
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§11-98-4.1.
History: New Rule published August 31, 2022; effective October 15, 2022.