April 1, 2021 — The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) and the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) are pleased to announce that they have received a grant from the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant program to support the Certified Traffic Incident Management Technician professional credential, which is the first accredited national certification for personnel meeting NFPA 1091: Standard for Traffic Incident Management Personnel Professional Qualifications. All roadway incident response personnel who are tasked with traffic control at an emergency scene on the roadway can earn this certification to demonstrate that they have obtained the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to properly discharge duties like positioning blocking vehicles, setting up a traffic incident management area, deploying and removing temporary traffic control devices, and conducting manual traffic control. The grant will reduce the certification cost from $95 to $15 for the first 100 applicants.
FDSOA administers the certification and the qualifying test. ERSI supports the certification with the training and preparatory tools necessary to pass the certification test. Training, including the required National TIM Training Certificate, is available at RSLN.org/TIMCertificate. A Test Prep Exam Workbook & Study Guide is available at ResponderSafety.com/CertifiedTIMTechnician. Completing the training and test preparation before taking the exam is the best way to ensure you are ready to sit for the test and have the best chance of success.
"The Certified Traffic Incident Management Technician professional credential is a natural outgrowth of our partnership with the Emergency Responder Safety Institute because we are both committed to eliminating struck-by incidents on the roadway," said Chief Rich Marinucci, executive director of FDSOA. "Local fire departments in the United States respond to over 4 million incidents every year on roadway properties. Traffic control provides us a key measure of safety when we are working these calls by alerting and diverting the public. Our personnel must be trained in how to set up, maintain, and break down that traffic control if we are going to get to our goal of zero struck-by incidents. Earning this professional certification is an important way to demonstrate you know how to do that."
To earn the Certified TIM Technician credential, applicants must first earn the National TIM Training Certificate and then must complete nine skill sheets and pass a certification exam that tests to the NFPA 1091 standard. The National TIM Training Certificate can be earned online from the Responder Safety Learning Network, online from the Federal Highway Administration, or at an in-person federal- or state-recognized National TIM Training class. Once an applicant has earned the National TIM Training
Certificate, they must apply for the TIM Technician certification using the form on the FDSOA web site and provide proof of holding the National TIM Certificate and completing the skill sheets. The applicant will then be scheduled to take the exam. If the applicant passes the test, they will be notified that they have earned the certification and provided with proof of certification.
This certification is third-party accredited by The National Board of Fire Service Professional Qualifications ("The Pro Board"). That accreditation is your assurance that the certification exam tests to the NFPA 1091 standard. Emergency responders who complete this Certified Traffic Incident Management Technician credential will be listed in the National Registry maintained by The Pro Board.
ERSI and the FDSOA have developed a detailed Traffic Incident Management Personnel Professional Certification Test Prep Exam Workbook & Study Guide to help prepare emergency responders to take the certification exam. This guide includes exercises and sample questions that will develop the candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities so they can fulfill NFPA 1091's requirements. Additional free training resources to help candidates prepare for the Certified TIM Technician exam are available at ResponderSafety.com/CertifiedTIMTechnician.
Visit the FDSOA website for full information on the process of earning the certification and to apply to sit for the exam.
About the Emergency Responder Safety Institute
The Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI), a Committee of the 118-year-old Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman's Association, is an advisory group of public safety leaders and transportation experts committed to reducing deaths and injuries to America's emergency responders while working on the roadways helping others. ERSI engages in and promotes activities that include developing educational material to support responder safety training; promoting the National Unified Goal (NUG) for Traffic Incident Management (TIM) including responder safety; safe, quick clearance and interoperable communications; encouraging the development of TIM Teams, promoting collaboration, communication and cooperation among the nation's emergency responders and keeping emergency responders up to date on national rules, regulations and trends related to safe roadway incident operations.
About the Fire Department Safety Officers Association
The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) was established in 1989 as a non-profit association, incorporated in Massachusetts. In 2013, the offices moved to Michigan. Its mission is to promote safety standards and practices in the fire, rescue and emergency services community. The association is led by a volunteer board of directors and has a small staff to handle the day-to-day operations. The association is dedicated to the issues that affect the critical role of the safety officer in protecting and promoting the safety and health responsibilities of fire departments, communities and first responders. FDSOA works to helps fire departments achieve proficiency and promote the recognition of training, skills and a secure future. In May 2016, FDSOA won the Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award for its work over 28 years, “as an organization fully dedicated to the health and safety of the nation’s firefighters.” FDSOA can be found on the web at www.fdsoa.org. Please follow FDSOA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
