Division of State Fire Marshal

Labor

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Burgess
Last action: 2026-03-13
Official status: Senate - Died in Banking and Insurance
Effective date: 2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Division of State Fire Marshal Requirements

This bill requires the Division of State Fire Marshal to accept firefighter training and certification from other states under certain conditions and sets rules about contaminated protective gear.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Division to accept firefighter training and certification requirements from another state if they are similar or stricter than Florida's standards.
Needs the Division to explain why it denies a certificate based on training from another state.
Adds new rules for dealing with contaminated personal protective equipment and firefighting gear.
Prohibits employers from requiring firefighters to take home contaminated protective gear.

Who It Names or Affects

Firefighters who are certified in other states
Employers of firefighters

Terms To Know

basis certificate: The training or certification from another state used to meet Florida's requirements.

Limits and Unknowns

It is not clear how many other states' certifications will be accepted.
Details about the best practices for contaminated gear are left up to future rules by the Division.

Bill History

2026-03-13 Senate
• Died in Banking and Insurance
2026-01-13 Senate
• Introduced
2025-12-16 Senate
• Referred to Banking and Insurance; Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; Rules
2025-12-10 Senate
• Filed

Official Summary Text

Division of State Fire Marshal; Requiring the Division of State Fire Marshal to accept requirements for training and certification of firefighters from another jurisdiction under certain circumstances; requiring the division to make a specified finding before denying a firefighter certificate; requiring the division to adopt certain rules relating to contaminated personal protective equipment and firefighting gear, etc.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 872

By
Senator Burgess

23-01327-26 2026872__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Division of State Fire Marshal;
3 amending s. 633.408, F.S.; requiring the Division of
4 State Fire Marshal to accept requirements for training
5 and certification of firefighters from another
6 jurisdiction under certain circumstances; requiring
7 the division to make a specified finding before
8 denying a firefighter certificate; defining the term
9 “basis certificate”; amending ss. 633.508 and 633.520,
10 F.S.; requiring the division to adopt certain rules
11 relating to contaminated personal protective equipment
12 and firefighting gear; providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 633.408, Florida
17 Statutes, is amended, and subsection (10) is added to that
18 section, to read:
19 633.408 Firefighter and volunteer firefighter training and
20 certification.—
21 (2)
Except as provided in subsection (10),
courses under
22 subsection (1) may only be administered by education or training
23 providers approved by the division pursuant to s. 633.128(1)(c)
24 and taught by instructors certified pursuant to s.
25 633.128(1)(d).
26
(10)

If the division determines that another state’s

27
training and certification requirements or examinations are

28
substantially equivalent or more stringent than those required

29
under this chapter, the division must accept such substantially

30
similar training and certification for certification in this

31
state. Before the division may deny a certificate under this

32
section, the division must make a finding that the basis

33
certificate in another jurisdiction is substantially equivalent

34
to or is otherwise insufficient for certification in this state.

35
As used in this subsection, the term “basis certificate” means

36
the certificate or training requirements of another jurisdiction

37
which are used to meet the requirements for certification in

38
this state.

39 Section 2. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (7) of
40 section 633.508, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
41 (d), and a new paragraph (c) is added to that subsection, to
42 read:
43 633.508 Workplace safety; rulemaking authority; division
44 authority.—
45 (7) The division shall adopt rules relating to all of the
46 following:
47
(c)

Prohibiting firefighter employers from requiring that

48
their firefighter employees take their personal protective

49
equipment or firefighting gear home if such equipment or gear is

50
contaminated.

51 Section 3. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (2) of
52 section 633.520, Florida Statutes, to read:
53 633.520 Safety; firefighter employer responsibilities.—
54 (2) The division shall adopt rules to establish:
55
(c)

Employers’ best practices related to contaminated

56
personal protective equipment or firefighting gear.

57 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.