Section 141.200  State Examinations

Except as otherwise noted in this Part, all State written examinations will be developed, provided, and administered by Office personnel.  Local instructors desiring to schedule State examinations should contact the Office to establish a time and place for the examination.  While the Office will endeavor to schedule examinations at sites throughout the State as requested, the number of examination requests may necessitate delays and regional testing.  The training facility requesting the State examinations be given should have facilities for the examination.  When large numbers of persons are to be tested, Office personnel may request additional assistance of the facility or fire department in monitoring the administration of a test.

a)         Class rooms, lecture rooms, municipal and fire protection department training rooms shall be acceptable facilities provided that space is available for the number of persons requesting to take the examination; desks or tables and chairs shall be provided by the examination center.  The room in which the examination is to be given shall be a room customarily used for quiet activities and not subject to loud noise or other activities nearby that might interfere with taking the written examinations.  Students must be spaced to ensure that they cannot readily observe another's answer sheet.  The following specifications for the facility and the administration of the examination must be adhered to:

1)         Candidates not present in the room at the time the proctor starts the examination will be disqualified from taking the examination.

2)         There can be nothing on the walls at the test site that could pertain to examination questions.

3)         The test administrator must be provided a table at least 6 feet in length.

4)         Loudspeakers, monitors, portable radios, cell phones and pagers or other electronic devices must be turned off.  Failure to do so shall result in immediate dismissal from the test area or the invalidation of any test results.

5)         The department hosting the test must supply a representative from the department at the test site during the examination.  This will be the only representative of the department allowed in the test room at the time of the test.

6)         The test site must have toilet facilities in proximity in the same building.

7)         All candidates must be in clear view of the proctor's table.

8)         The test site must have temperature control for comfort of candidates.

b)         All State written examinations will require a 70% overall passing rate.  In the case of modular examinations, a 70% overall passing rate for each module is required.

c)         Examination results will be sent to the individual taking the examination through the employing fire department, the chief of the individual's fire department and, when applicable, the training facility that provided training.  The Office will maintain these scores and shall use them internally for statistical and/or employment purposes.  Otherwise, the Office will not release the examination scores of any individual without the prior written approval of the individual.

d)         State certifications for qualified fire service personnel may be awarded to individuals employed by local governmental agencies and fire brigades and to State of Illinois employees, after successful completion of all requirements.  It is the responsibility of the Fire Chief, Chief Executive Officer or designee to sign off, verifying completion of all requirements, on all Requests for Examination and Applications for Certification/Validation-Attestation.  If the Fire Chief or Chief Executive Officer refuses to attest to the verification, the individual applying for certification may petition the office for a waiver by submitting in writing all pertinent facts. Upon investigation and verification by the Office, a waiver of attestation may be granted by the Director.

e)         Prerequisites.  A candidate for Firefighter II examination must be engaged in firefighting in an organized Illinois fire department as a fire protection person or trainee according to the Act as attested to by the employing Illinois Fire Chief of the individual seeking certification.

f)          Procedure to Request State Administered Certification Examination

1)         At least 30 days prior to the anticipated day for testing at a given training facility, the Office shall be in receipt of a completed form entitled Request for Examination, signed by the Fire Chief or training facility Director, or his/her designee, and the Certified Instructor that will attest to the fact that each individual has:

A)        A documented learning experience in each of the subject areas of the course required;

B)        Satisfactory scores on all local examinations; and

C)        Demonstrated the proficiency required by each skill requirement for the level of certification by having been observed and evaluated by a Certified Instructor (of the proper level) and an officer of the fire department or his/her designee in the accomplishment of these skills, and that local records are maintained that contain copies of the evaluator's checklists and evaluation sheets for each individual.

2)         In the case of all State required practical examinations, Application for Certification/Validation-Attestation must be submitted to the Division before certifications may be issued.

g)         No person will be allowed to take the written examination for State certification without having completed all of the above requirements.  End-of-course written examinations conducted by approved training facilities that show satisfactory completion of the learning experience requirements are acceptable.

h)         Persons who have not met all prerequisites listed in subsection (e) will not be examined, nor will persons who are ill, persons on duty who may be called out during the examination, or persons obviously under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  In making the determination of drug or alcohol impairment, the Office will consider, but is not limited to, observation of demeanor, slurred speech, odor of alcohol, general behavior and other considerations that would help in making the determination.

i)          The proctor will not be permitted to discuss or answer questions regarding any questions on the examination.  No one will be permitted to enter once the examination has started.  Students are not permitted to have notes or reference material in their possession, including calculators and slide rules.  The only paper allowed in the test center will be distributed in single sheets by the proctor according to the examination directions.  There will be no scheduled breaks during examination.  Persons should be advised at the beginning of the examination that no one will be allowed to leave the room before completing the examination except in an emergency, and then only one at a time.  The examination begins after the proctor has read the instructions, at which time all discussion will cease.  Candidates will not be permitted to speak to each other or to the proctor, and all instructions to the candidates contained in the proctor instructions will be followed.  The proctor will begin the examination with the words "you may begin" and the examination will end with the proctor announcing "you are to stop now".

j)          Results of examinations taken for the purpose of State certification will be retained in the Office.  All participants who examine and receive certification will have notification sent to their employing department.

k)         Re-examination

1)         No person shall be re-examined without further documented learning experiences in each of the subject areas.

2)         The Request for Examination form contains an attestation that proof exists that the individual has had the required additional learning experience before re-examination.

3)         There is no limit set by the Office for the number of times that an individual may take the written or practical portion of a State certification examination, except when the examinations are allowed under Section 141.120.

4)         The battery of examinations to be given will be determined by the Office.

l)          Practical skills examinations required by the Office for all certifications other than Firefighter II and III remain valid for 12 months.  If an individual has not passed the written examination within 12 months after the practical skills evolutions, the candidate will be required to retake the State practical skills examinations.

1)         Passing rate of the Fire Apparatus Engineer practical skills examinations is 70%.

2)         Passing rate of all other practical skills examinations is 100%.

m)        State required practical skills evolutions for Firefighter II and III may be administered at any time during the course of training.  It is the responsibility of the Certified Instructor to follow the Office's standards and assure currency of skills.

n)         If firefighters from a given fire department experience excessive or repeated failures of a firefighter examination, the Fire Chief and appropriate officers of the department are encouraged to contact the Office for assistance.

o)         Certification will not be granted until the State written examination is successfully passed and the course completion documentation and the Application for Certification/Validation-Attestation for the practical skills examinations is submitted to the Office.

p)         If the completion of the State written examination is more than 10 years old and a certification was not awarded at the time even though all other prerequisites were met, the individual will be required to successfully complete the current State practical skills examinations.  Certification will be awarded when receipt of passage for the current practical skills examinations is received.

(Source:  Amended at 33 Ill. Reg. 5780, effective April 2, 2009)