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TERT Membership Criteria

Below you will find the criteria requirement to be a MA TERT member.

Criteria for TERT Members  

All members should meet the following qualifications and skills taken from : 

  • A public safety background with a minimum of three (3) years of experience in dispatch operations.
  • Currently working as a telecommunicator for a Massachusetts PSAP 
  • Pass a criminal background check performed by the Authority Having Jurisdiction 
  • Follow the vaccination/immunization guidelines outlined in the CDC guidance document titled “Immunization Recommendations for Disaster Responders.” 
  • Have a signed letter from the agency director acknowledging/approving participation in TERT on file with the TERT State Coordinator (Renewed by January 1 of even-numbered years). SAMPLE Agency Letter
  • Possess positive interpersonal communication and leadership skills. 
  • Possess an excellent working knowledge of the appropriate public safety emergency response operation and equipment as it relates to the member's role. 
  • Possess an ability to adapt and be flexible with different policies, procedures, equipment, and geographic areas. 
  • Possess an ability to adapt to poor environmental conditions such as no beds, cold meals, no running water. 
  • Possess excellent people and teamwork skills inclusive of cultural diversity. 
  • Possess excellent documentation skills. 
  • Apply and be credentialed through the COMU program  

TERT Telecommunicators Requirements 

Candidates must have completed the following online courses from the FEMA/EMI website Note: All ICS Courses should be the most current version (within last 10 years):  

Candidates must have the following courses completed: 

  • Basic Public Safety Telecommunications Class that lasts 40 hours 
  • Massachusetts E911 course and certification 
  • CPR certification 

TERT Team Leader Requirements 

  • Understand local, state, regional, and national mutual aid processes and procedures 
  • Be able to coordinate work tasks and human resources in adverse and changing environments with minimal direction  
  • Possess the knowledge to identify, locate and obtain logistical support for the team  
  •  Strong administrative skills, i.e., scheduling, timekeeping, cost tracking, etc. 
  • Possess the ability to effectively interface with the Incident Command Structure  

Candidates for TERT Team Leader must have completed the following courses in addition to that of a TERT member 

  • ICS-300, Intermediate Incident Command System (ICS) for Expanding Incidents 
  • ICS-400, Advanced ICS Command, and General Staff-Complex Incidents 
  • ICS-1200, TERT Team Leader Course 

Credentialing

Once member applications are vetted and submitted to the SWIC (State Wide Interoperability Coordinator) they will be issued official credentials welcoming them to the COMU team and as a MA TERT Member.  

They will then receive State911 Logins for all PSAPS. 

The logins are only to be used for official TERT purposes. Any member found logging in during non-TERT business will be dropped from the team. 

Team members will be assigned geographically. The groups will be North East, Central, South East, and West. 

Expectations and Commitment 

  • Ensure certificates are up to date and renewed as needed 
  • Participate in monthly meetings/trainings 
  • Commitment to deploy when activated- time requirement will vary per incident 
  • Respond to requests from State Coordinator and Team Leaders promptly 
  • When on deployment act in a professional manner and represent their home agency as well as the EOPPS and Massachusetts State 911. 
  • Adherence to the MA TERT Code of Conduct 

Renewal 

MA TERT members must stay current with their certifications. It is the responsible of the TERT member to provide the state coordinator with up to date certificates. 

ICS courses should be the version within the last 10 years. 

Members must renew their signed letter from their agency every other year in January (2022, 2024, 2026) 

MA TERT members must be compliant with State911 and in good standing with their department. 

In compliance with the COMU P&P members must renew their credentials every 3 years. To maintain current and consistent skill set credentialed COMU personnel Massachusetts requires COMU personnel to complete a continuing education program during their three (3) year credentialed period. 

TERT Members must complete and submit the MA COMU Applicant Credential Renewal Form

Continuing Education 

Credentialed COMU personnel will be required to complete thirty-six (36) hours of CEU, prior to the expiration date of their credentials in the following six (6) categories: 

  •  Job duties as it relates to communications systems (voice, data, IOP planning) (4 hours minimum) 
  • Establish a communications system to meet incident operational needs (4 hours minimum) 
  • Workshops and/or seminars (6 hours minimum) 
  •  Exercises (Functional and/or Full Scale) (12 hours minimum) 
  • Communications/ICS Related Training Programs (6 hours minimum) 
  • Communications Presentations/Teaching, including any new hire orientation, field training, and candidate PTB task work assistance. (4 hours minimum) 

Massachusetts COMU personnel may participate in an approved classroom and/or online training, exercise (Communications Exercise, Functional and/or Full Scale), planned event, or actual incident to receive credit for continuing education. 

Participation in an exercise, planned event, or actual incident must be in the role of the COMU credential being renewed to qualify for this credit. Completion of verified continuing education will be adequate for the renewal of COMU credentialing. 

The Massachusetts TERT program will provide opportunities for continuing education that will help to meet these requirements. The program will hold trainings on 10 months of the year.  

Failure to meet Renewal Requirements 

If the SWIC has not received a completed renewal packet from the credentialed COMU member prior to their expiration date, the credentials will automatically expire, the credentialed COMU member will be removed from Local, State, and Federal databases, including CASM, and they will be considered ineligible for deployment by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts / EOPSS.  

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