ProBoard

CSTI is now accredited by Pro Board®

In September 2019, CSTI became Pro Board® accredited for the following classes/levels:

• Haz Mat First Responder Awareness (FRA)
• Haz Mat First Responder Operations (FRO)
• Haz Mat Incident Commander (IC)

The mission of Pro Board® is to establish an internationally recognized means of acknowledging professional achievement in the fire service and related fields. Pro Board® certification and placement on the National Registry provides an individual with credibility and a sense of accomplishment, and the certification is transferable between participating states & provinces. There are over 70 agencies accredited by the Pro Board® across North America and around the world.

CSTI Outreach Instructors now have a choice: they can teach the traditional CSTI FRA, FRO or IC courses and provide a CSTI certificate, or they can teach the Pro Board® version and each student will receive a CSTI certificate with a Pro Board® seal and their names will be placed on a national registry. Since State Fire Training (SFT) is also accredited through Pro Board®, SFT will recognize reciprocity for CSTI Pro Board® certificates.

For further information on how to teach a CSTI/Pro Board course through the CSTI Haz Mat Outreach program, please click to view the folder ”Pro Board Certified Courses“.

Can Pro Board Certification be Added to a CSTI Class Certificate?

It depends on when the CSTI class was taken:

November 20, 2003 through March 12, 2013
Yes – See below for more information

​March 13, 2013 through September 25, 2019
No – CSTI was not Pro Board accredited during that time

September 26, 2019 through current date
No – CSTI became reaccredited by Pro Board, and offers two versions of classes: CSTI certified or CSTI/Pro Board certified. If someone takes the “non-Pro Board” version, they cannot add Pro Board certification at a later date
However, Pro Board “conversion” classes may be offered in the future. See below for more information.

Additional Information:

November 20, 2003 through March 12, 2013 - During this time, CSTI was a Pro Board accredited agency for the following CSTI Haz Mat courses:　

• Haz Mat First Responder Awareness (FRA)
• Haz Mat First Responder Operations (FRO)
• Haz Mat Technician
• Haz Mat Incident Commander
• Haz Mat Industry Technician

If a person wants to add Pro Board certification for CSTI classes taken during that timeframe, they should email their request to the CSTI Haz Mat Outreach Coordinator at hmoutreach@caloes.ca.gov and include a copy of their CSTI certificate.
CSTI will process that person’s request, and they will then be emailed a Pro Board Application for Registration of Certification (Form COA-7). They need to complete the form, email it to Pro Board, and pay a fee of $17.50 per certificate to Pro Board.

March 13, 2013 through September 25, 2019 - During this time CSTI was not Pro Board accredited, so any CSTI classes taken during that time are not eligible for Pro Board certification.

September 26, 2019 through current date - During this time, CSTI became reaccredited by Pro Board, but only for the following levels:

• First Responder Awareness (FRA)
• First Responder Operations (FRO) (with Mission Specific PPE and Product Control)
• Incident Commander (IC)

There are now two versions of each FRA, FRO or IC class offered through CSTI:

• Class certified by CSTI, or
• Class certified by CSTI and Pro Board®

If a person takes the “non-Pro Board” version, they cannot add Pro Board certification at a later date. That is because the two versions are different. The Pro Board version requires more class time and involves certification testing.

In the future, CSTI may offer separate “conversion” classes in which a CSTI certificate can be “converted” to a Pro Board version. These courses will:

• Take into account the material that was previously taught in the CSTI certified course.
• Add additional instruction to ensure all requisite knowledge and skill objectives are met, in accordance with the applicable National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard.
• Provide a cognitive examination and manipulative skills examination in accordance with the most recent applicable NFPA standard in order to test the job performance requirements (JPR)s