N.M. Admin. Code § 10.24.1.8

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 10.24.1.8 - SYSTEM OF CERTIFICATION

A.Certification for field coordinator:

(1) Certification is required for SAR persons or volunteers in order to act as field coordinators. To be certified as a field coordinator an applicant must:

(a) submit an application with the New Mexico department of public safety;

(b) successfully complete a SAR management course and other criteria for qualifications as required by the New Mexico department of public safety;

(c) complete the training standards for field coordinators which will comprise of a minimum of 40 hours of training, and may include, but is not limited to, management of SAR resources, development of goals and objectives, and search theory applications; and

(d) receive final approval for certification from the SAR review board and the agency administrator.

(2) Levels of certification:

(a) Field coordinators will be certified as type I, type II, type III or type IV according to experience and performance.

(b) A field coordinator will initially be designated as type IV and may advance up to a type I certification.

(c) The agency administrator will provide final approval of advancement to higher certification types.

B.Certification for incident command system general staff:

(1) Certification is encouraged and preferred, but is not required, for a person to be recognized and to act as a SAR incident command system general staff. Additionally, training and certification for section chiefs may be required in order to be a listed resource in the SAR resource directory. An applicant wishing to receive certification as a member of the incident command system general staff must:

(a) submit an application supplied by the SAR resource officer;

(b) successfully complete an incident command system general staff course and other criteria for minimum qualifications as required by the New Mexico department of public safety;

(c) complete the training standards for incident command general staff which will comprise of a minimum of 16 hours of training, and which may include, but is not limited to, leadership and supervisory responsibilities, and development of search strategies and communications; and

(d) receive final approval for certification from the SAR resource officer and agency administrator.

(2) Levels of certification:

(a) Incident command system general staff will be certified as type I, type II or type III according to experience and performance.

(b) Incident command system general staff will initially be designated as type III.

(c) Requests to advance to a higher certification type will be reviewed and approved by the SAR resource officer.

C.Certification for SAR person or volunteer:

(1) Certification is encouraged, but not required, for a person to be recognized and to participate as a SAR person or volunteer. To become a certified SAR person or volunteer, an applicant must:

(a) submit a questionnaire supplied by the SAR resource officer;

(b) meet the criteria for minimum qualifications as established by the agency administrator;

(c) successfully complete training as required by the New Mexico department of public safety;

(d) complete the field certification training, which will comprise of a minimum of eight hours of training, and which may include communications, navigation and gear requirements, and other training as determined necessary by the SAR resource officer; and

(e) receive approval for certification by the SAR resource officer and agency administrator.

(2) Levels of certification: There are no specified levels of certification developed for the SAR person or volunteer.

D.Levels of certification established: The agency administrator may develop additional levels of certification for volunteers with search and rescue beyond those described above.

E.Training Standards and Lesson Plans: The search and rescue resource officer will determine training standards, and will prepare and update lesson plans for optimal educational teaching effectiveness. The SAR review board will review the training curriculum and recommend approval to the agency administrator.

N.M. Admin. Code § 10.24.1.8

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXVIII, Issue 12, June 27, 2017, eff. 6/27/2017